What is this Brown Friday shit?

Brown Friday is the number 2 reason to spend this holiday season.

But before we get into that, let us introduce ourselves. We’re the World Toilet Organization and we believe that every school child should have access to clean, safe toilets; because nothing keeps kids away from school like having no place to poop and pee in peace. Our first project for 2014 is to put up one toilet building for a school in KwaMashu, South Africa that desperately needs it. For this, we’re going to need $30,000.

To help raise this money, we’re hijacking Black Friday and declaring it Brown Friday. While spending money on yourself, your family, and your friends on this shopping holiday, remember to get online and share some with the kids in KwaMashu.

A worthy cause. Now what crap do you need from me?

Whatever you’re willing to give! We accept donations ranging from $10 to $10,000 depending on what you can spare. In return, you get your name on the toilet building mural, a t-shirt, a notebook, a tote bag, or the honor of cutting the ribbon on the finished facility in South Africa. So put down that toilet seat, make yourself comfortable and browse our options to see which one works for you.

Can you imagine schools without toilets? Watch this video to find out more about our school sanitation project in KwaMashu, South Africa:

FAQs

1.Tell me more about WTO's school sanitation project in South Africa.

• The state of toilets in South African Schools is dire. 11.7% of schools in South Africa have no sanitation facilities at all. Furthermore, there is an estimated shortage of around 220,000 toilets in schools which do have basic sanitation facilities. Toilets are also overcrowded and are unable to cope with the number of students needing to use them. 
• Access to adequate sanitation facilities is essential for children, as their rights to health and survival depend on it. It is therefore critical that students are taught about the importance of sanitation and personal hygiene practices and that the necessary sanitation facilities are made available at school.
• There is a great need for improved school sanitation facilities and we need your support to provide clean and safe toilets to children. WTO hopes to impact 10 schools in KwaMashu in 2014. We need to raise $30, 000 to impact one school. The more we raise, the more schools we can reach out to.
• In addition to refurbishing and building toilets, WTO will also conduct hygiene awareness programs to promote healthy practices among children.

2. What are the benefits of clean and safe toilets in schools?

• Research indicates that the provision of hygienic toilet facilities contributes directly to the standard of education received by pupils. 
• School sanitation is directly correlated to increasing levels of gender equality. In South Africa, inadequate sanitation causes girls to miss an average of 4 days of school per month.
• The provision of clean and safe toilets in schools will lead to a healthy learning environment for children. Adequate sanitation facilities in schools changes lives and its impact reaches far into the future – promoting health, dignity and well-being to our future generation of leaders and changemakers.

3. Where does my money go?

• All funds raised will go directly to refurbishing and building new toilets for schools in South Africa's KwaMashu region. 

4. Why do you need $30, 000? That seems like a lot of money for one toilet block.

$30,000 is a lot of money, but once you understand how much planning, time and effort goes into creating sustainability within school sanitation, it becomes easier to comprehend why $30,000 is not that much money for a few toilets. Here's why we need $30,000: 

• Infrastructure: Proper infrastructure is lacking in the schools. We'll need to get planning, equipment and proper plumping in before we even begin the building. Then of course there is the basic cost of building in a remote area.
• Education: Building toilets without educating the school children on proper hygiene and sanitation practices will be self defeating. Therefore, we run hygiene awareness programs in accordance with our infrastructural developments to ensure that when the toilets are complete, the children know what are the best practices for using the toilets.
  
• Training & Maintenance: We'll need to train toilet cleaners on how to properly clean and maintain the toilets. This way, we can ensure that the toilets we build, will be kept clean and hygienic for use.
  

At WTO, we're not looking to just build toilets, we're looking to change toilet culture!

5. What will you do with the money in the event that you don’t end up raising the $30,000 you need for one toilet block?

If we don't reach our goal, we will spend all of the money on sanitation related causes for school children in South Africa. Depending on the amount of money raised, we will spend all of the donations on either one of the options below or some of the options combined: 

• Combine our money raised with one of our local partners and build a toilet block.
• Hygiene Awareness Programs
• Toilet Paper Supplies
• Sanitary Napkins Supplies
• Hand-Washing Soap Supplies
• Rubbish Bin Supplies  

6. How many schools will benefit from WTO's project?

This campaign is aimed at raising enough funds to impact one school in South Africa's KwaMashu region. However, should we raise more than our $30,000 funding goal, we will service other schools with clean and safe sanitation facilities.

7. When do you expect the toilet block to be completed?

It takes roughly 3 months for the toilet block to be completed. As we will only receive our money about 2 months after our project ends, we expect to have the toilet block up and running by June 2014. 

8. When will I receive my perks?

All perks will be delivered by March 2014 at the latest.

9. Do I need to pay for shipping?

Shipping is free for all deliveries within Singapore. For rest of the world, please add USD 10 for shipping. 

10. Are there any other ways to contribute to this campaign?

Yes! If you can’t support us financially, there are tons of ways you can support us. Join us in breaking the taboo on sanitation by using social media to spread the word about our school sanitation project. Remember to hashtag us at #BrownFriday

• Lend us your social media reach with Thunderclap: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/6869-brownfriday?
• Follow us on Twitter: @worldtoilet
• Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WTO.org

PERKS