Eastbourne awarded Toilet Twinned Town accolade

Eastbourne is doing its bit to flush away poverty in developing countries having been named as a Toilet Twinned Town.

The Mayor, Councillor Gill Mattock, unveiled a certificate confirming the accolade at a short ceremony in the council’s reception at 1 Grove Road on Friday (December 14).

She said: “I’m proud that Eastbourne has achieved this status through the hard work of local campaigners who have helped tackle a really serious global issue.

“Bad sanitation is one of the world’s biggest killers. Every minute, a child under the age of five dies because of dirty water and poor sanitation.”

The award is the result of a campaign to improve water quality and sanitation worldwide, by a local coalition that included representatives from Churches Together for Eastbourne, Cafod, Christian Aid, Tearfund and Fairtrade Eastbourne.

The campaigners succeeded in twinning more than 240 toilets in churches, schools, community buildings, pubs, cafes and homes across Eastbourne, which are now linked with latrines all across the developing world.

They raised money through a range of fundraising initiatives and donations.

Under the Toilet Twinning scheme, every £60 helps fund a project in a poor community that enables families to build a basic toilet, have access to clean water and learn about hygiene.
A spokesperson for the campaign group said “Thank you so much to all those in Eastbourne who have twinned their toilet with a toilet in one of the least developed countries around the world.

“Over 240 toilets in Eastbourne are now graced with a certificate and photo of their twinned latrine, over 100 of which were twinned during last year. This equates to £14,400 going towards life-saving sanitation, water and hygiene projects around the world.

“We’d love more people to back the campaign. Perhaps you would consider twinning a friend’s loo this Christmas?”

Find out more at www.toilettwinning.org

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