I’m here to talk to you today about Toilet Twinning… First, can I ask: have any of you been to the toilet today?

Was it anything like this one? This precarious privy is perched on top of a cliff in Siberia 2,600 metres above sea level.

This chilly loo is at an ice hotel in Sweden.

This solid-gold fully functioning toilet is an art installation at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

This, however, is the loo I’ve come to talk to you about This, however, is the loo I’ve come to talk to you about. It’s in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And it’s one of tens of thousands that have been built around the world, thanks to Toilet Twinning.

‘My daughter was attacked because we didn’t have a toilet at our home Bawili (right) is a widow. Her husband was shot dead in the civil war, and Bawili fled with her family to Tanzania. When they came back, they settled in a new community, with other returnees. They all had to start from scratch. As a widow, Bawili says she didn’t have the money or strength to build a toilet at her home, so the family would go to toilet in the bush. Ebinda (left) was attacked one day as she was relieving herself in the bush. She became pregnant through the attack and had to leave school.

Toilet-building projects unite communities and teach them to work together to bring change. When Tearfund, with support from Toilet Twinning, set up a community health club in her village, Bawili was first to attend and last to leave. She never missed a meeting, and she became club president. She would encourage everyone to build a toilet, even though she didn’t have the resources to build one herself. So, one day, the club voted unanimously to help her build a toilet by providing materials and labour. Bawili says, ‘If you don’t have love, you can’t build a good society.’ She is so thankful for her toilet. She says, ‘It has brought us safety, dignity and privacy.’

‘Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’ 1 Thessalonians 5:18 When we look at the world through eyes of gratitude and give thanks in all circumstances, we take our eyes off our problems. We start to appreciate all the things that we tend to take for granted, including essentials such as our toilets and clean water. We are so blessed.

One in three people on the planet don’t have a proper loo 2.3 billion people don’t have somewhere safe to go to the toilet – that’s almost 1 in 3 of the world’s population.

Every minute, a child under five dies because unclean water and poor sanitation If you don’t have a toilet, you can’t keep clean or healthy. If you’re sick, you can’t work or grow food. Children can’t go to school.

Toilet Twinning is part of Tearfund and funds its water and sanitation work worldwide. Decent toilets Clean water Hygiene education Toilet Twinning is part of a Christian development agency called Tearfund. It raises funds to provide proper toilets, clean water and hygiene education (simple but lifechanging things like washing hands with soap) in some of the poorest countries in the world. It is funding projects across Africa, Asia and the Americas.

‘He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honour.’ 1 Samuel 2:8 God’s heart is for the marginalised and the poorest people on our planet. He calls us, as Christians, to reach out to them. Toilet Twinning is all about serving neglected and hard-to-reach people - restoring their dignity by providing the basic things that we all tend to take for granted. [NB: there’s no pun intended in the references to thrones in the Bible verse here!]

For £60, you can twin with a family latrine And you get a certificate showing your toilet twin! Basically, you twin your loo at home or church or work or school with a latrine in a poor nation. For a one-off donation, you receive a special certificate with a photo of your twin and its GPS coordinates. For £60, you can twin with a household latrine.

Thank you! Any questions?