Every Kid Deserves a Toilet!
Toilets For All launched recently a fundraising campaign for its project in the Korogocho Slums and we would like to walk you through the cause we are supporting.
Approximately 6.4 million urban residents in Kenya live in slums without access to adequate sanitation. Korogocho, Nairobi has only one pit latrine for every 30 inhabitants. Latrines overflow due to late desludging and approximately 140m³ of faecal sludge is dumped into Nairobi river every day. Children in Korogocho’s schools risk catching diseases as a result of the poor sanitation standards. Globally, almost 700 million children are affected by a lack of decent sanitation at their schools, one in three schools does not have adequate sanitation.
To address this situation, Toilets For All funded the renovation of Ryeeda CBO school pit latrines in collaboration with Mobile Alert Toilets (MAT) supporting more than 250 school children. MAT offers an innovative solution which consists of renovating the said pit latrines with containers and sensors. The sensors monitor and send automated messages to alert MAT to empty and use the resources in a safe and hygienic way. Thanks to this process, MAT avoids polluting the local rivers whose water is also used for other purposes by the slum dwellers. Moreover, Toilets For All provided the school with two POVU POA handwashing stations which reduces the cost of soap and water. MAT will lead an educational training on hygiene when schools reopen in January 2021.
Check out videos and pictures of the project.
You might wonder what the actual impact of our project is. Safe sanitation systems are a strong defense against the spread of chronic diseases. For instance, improved sanitation systems can reduce the number of cases of diarrhea by approximately 37.5%. Did you know that diarrhea kills more children than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined? We would like to draw special attention to the positive impact it has on school attendance for girls. Click here to read what our young beneficiaries thought of the renovations!
Going forward, we plan to renovate latrines in a total of 36 other schools around Korogocho. We will do so taking one step at a time and the next target is five other schools which need it the most, the first one has just started. Please, visit our fundraising page to check the donation options and gift cards we have designed to give as a present for your loved ones.
Our fundraising efforts would not be possible without Alaya, a solidarity platform which engages and enables companies to build a purpose-driven culture and engage employees to make a meaningful impact. We are also thrilled to announce that we are expanding our donation base and donations from the US, the UK and the Netherlands will now be tax-deductible next to Switzerland.
Text written by María Bravo Elvira