Hope Spot 8 – The real toilet wouldn’t fit

Friend, know what this is?

A new kind of Tim-Tam?

A skull surrendering?

The lid of a treasure box?

(getting close 😊)

But no, I didn’t know either …

… until the person who showed it to me – Brian Neldner, an early leader of Lutheran Church service through ALWS, and author of Table of Eight – explained.

It’s a mini replica of a squat toilet.

The kind of toilet built thanks to Lutheran action many years ago in Bangladesh.

There was no gravel for concrete, so people had to handmake mud bricks, then crush them to create the gravel for the concrete.

Hands-on and humble.

Like the help you give people in need through ALWS.

The local community gave this replica to Brian in thanks for the actual squat toilets they were supported to build through Lutheran kindness.

Right now, when it feels like so much of the world is ‘going down the toilet’ …

… I thought this might make you smile (flushed with joy?)

Providing toilets is one of the most important things you do through ALWS.

In remote villages. Refugee Camps. After disasters like the Myanmar earthquake.

Toilets help prevent the spread of disease. Maintain people’s dignity. Keep women and girls (in particular) safe.

So, if you’re looking for something to cheer you up in a gloomy week, here are some more toilets you’ve helped build through ALWS. Enjoy

Dollo Ado – Ethiopia: four families share each stall, the pit is 3 metres deep

“The main challenge is that people have never used a latrine before.

I am happy with the people because they are hearing our health and hygiene message, and they accept it.”
LWF Health Worker – Displaced Persons Camp, Ethiopia

Remote village – Cambodia: local materials, family provide labour

Displaced Persons Camp – Djibouti

Transit Centre – border South Sudan and Kenya – gender-separated for safety

Transit Centre – border South Sudan and Kenya: note ramp for wheelchairs