SPENDING A PENNY THIS CHRISTMAS

Local councillor and charity fund raiser, Linda Piggott-Vijeh, will be helping others to 'spend a penny' this Christmas by buying a toilet!

Said Linda, 'Each year I try to save some small amount of money to go to a good cause. Last year I saved my own weight in 1p and 2p coins to buy a cow, a goat and some chicken to help those in Africa to be able to make a living for themselves. This year, after a visit to Ashill Baptist Church I found out about Toilet Twinning. It seemed to me to be a marvelous, and fun way to help others. I then decided to collect 5p coins for the year to save up the £60 required to fund the building of a toilet through Tearfund. I travel as much as I can and am all too aware of the lack of proper facilities in third world countries which can have a huge impact on their health and wellbeing. Collecting money this way is really painless, I just put any of the 5 coins I have been given in change while out shopping into the jar each day. I cannot wait to receive the picture of my twinned toilet to hang in my own bathroom. It will be a reminder that every time I 'spend a penny' in my own home there are many others who do not have that luxury.'

http://www.toilettwinning.org/

Toilet Twinning is a simple, quirky way to solve a serious problem and save lives.
For just a £60 donation, you can twin your loo with a latrine halfway around the world, in a country of your choosing. For a £240 donation, you can twin with a school block or toilets in a displacement camp.

Your smallest room becomes the proud owner of a certificate, complete with a photo and GPS coordinates so you can look up your twin on Google Maps.

Toilet Twinning funds the work of international relief and development agency Tearfund. Your donation will be used to provide clean water, basic sanitation, and hygiene education. This vital combination works together to prevent the spread of disease. Children are healthier, and able to go to school; parents are well enough to work their land and grow enough food to feed their family. With better health, and more ability to earn a living, men and women discover the potential that lies within them to bring transformation.

Family by family, community by community, nation by nation, we are flushing away poverty.