African Toilet & Sanitation Dialogue

The purpose is to develop the approaches in the use of emerging private sector in contributing to the sustainable improvement of toilet and sanitation in African schools. Implement training and awareness programs for better use of toilets and sanitation facilities in schools, linked to vigorous teaching of fund raising projects by the schools. Thus, enabling them to continue on their own once the donor and corporate funding has sown the seed and stopped funding.

The book has been listed in the (ESP) Catalogue Learner Teacher Study Material (L.T.S.M) library resource senior phase, hygiene and sanitation component by Gauteng Department of Basic Education.

The author Fhatuwani Trevor Mulaudzi is a lecturer at the University of Limpopo (UL)Water and Sanitation Faculty. Toilets and children’s education go hand in hand. South African Schools are considered some of the most dangerous schools in the world, but I believe clean toilets would go a long way towards rectifying that. Once toilets are clean, children immediately are more receptive to learning. Dignity begins with decent ablution facilities.

How does your business help the community? There are some 27 000 schools in this country and if each one employed three people to clean its toilets that would create 81 000 jobs. Currently, most school toilets are not clean at all. “Fhatuwani Trevor Mulaudzi a lecturer at the University of Limpopo, is a dedicated and committed sanitation and conservation cadre, an agent for change and a vanguard. Bloemwater had the privilege of working and meeting with this colossus in 2009.

Bloemwater was tasked by the Department of Water Affairs and Department of Education with renovation and deep cleaning of the school toilet blocks in 50 schools in the Free State Province of South Africa.” Dr Benjamin Malakoane, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bloemwater “Instead of thinking of the 2.6 billion people without toilets as a problem let’s see them as a business opportunity. Plastic and porcelain manufacturers, soap people, all sorts of business, can get business out of sanitation.” Rose George, The Big Necessity: Adventures In the World of Human Waste.

The bible says a lot about toilets. Reading about what God has to say about toilets and the implementation of public Toilet Tax in Jerusalem helped me question the ministers and the church as a whole with regards to their stand in toilet and sanitary matters; especially churches with unkept toilets. God puts priority to sanitary matters and so should we. Working with Trevor renovating the school toilets at Thabang primary school Dobsonville Soweto raised my consciousness and evoked a passion I never had for school hygiene.