Summary / objectives

To provide a toilet or latrine to people living in developing countries, preferably by educating communities about the importance of hygiene, how to collect rainwater and builtd toilets. Or, in countries with conflict to provide toilets.

Background

Toilet twinning is a joint venture between Tearfund and Cord. It is unique way to do something about the 2.6 billion people living without decent sanitation. Every minute, three children under the age of five die because of poor sanitation or dirty water. For £60, members of the public can twin their toilets with a latrine in Burundi, Cambodia, or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Creator / originator

Mark Atterton, Nick Wilmot and Richard Dixon (Cord)

Special characteristics

It is a similar idea to the virtual gifts or sponsorship programme but the outstanding characteristic to me is the simplicity and quality of the execution, right down to the framed picture arriving ready for you to put on your toilet wall and continue promoting the idea on the charities' behalf to the next supporter.

Influence / impact

Since launch in 2009, 25,000 toilets twinned in 41 countries.

Merits

The main elements that make this a good idea are replicable for other causes; a brand that directly explains the cause, strong links to aspects of the donors life to make it relevant, and great execution, delivering an end product that the donor wants to display on an open-ended basis – promoting your idea to their friends and family.

Toilet Twinning was featured at SOFII's 2014 'I Wish I'd Thought Of That' event in London.