I reflect and develop my most creative ideas whenever I am “shitting” | World Toilet Day 2019

over 4 years ago

Commemorated on the 19th of November every year, World Toilet Day, is about inspiring action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and help achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which promises sanitation for all by 2030.
The theme for this year's World Toilet Day was "Leaving no one behind" but what is a toilet.

A toilet is not just a toilet. It’s a life-saver, dignity-protector and opportunity-maker. Whoever you are, wherever you are, sanitation is your human right.

Check out these bizarre facts about Hygiene and sanitation

4.2 billion people live without safely managed sanitation – more than half the global population.
673 million people still shit in open air (open defaecation) worldwide.
Globally, at least 2 billion people drink faeces contaminated water.
Inadequate sanitation is estimated to cause 432,000 diarrhoeal deaths every year and is a major factor in diseases such as intestinal worms and trachoma.
Children under the age of five living in countries affected by protracted conflict are, on average, nearly 20 times more likely to die from diarrhoeal diseases caused by a lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene than by direct violence. (UNICEF 2019)

I think these facts should inspire you to take Toilet action.

What does a toilet mean to @mr-greens?

"I reflect and develop my most creative ideas whenever I am “shitting” @mr-greens
I like shitting. Everyday, i take enough time before i have my bath to shit. It's the one thing i don't rush with because during shitting, i reflect and develop some really crazy, creative and inspiring ideas. Shitting is an opportunity marker for me and this explains why during shitting, i take my time.
However, my memorable shitting experience is only possible in a clean and decent toilet. I always make sure that if i am to shit, the toilet must be clean and very convenient for me to take my time and shit.
Going to shit in a clean toilet is like a eureka moment for me

What does a toilet mean to you?

While you think about what a toilet means to you, it is important you read this message from Sadhguru on the occassion of World Toilet Day.

As it is important to have access to food and water, it is equally important for a human being to have access to a clean toilet to bring health, well-being and to establish human dignity. This becomes a very important dimension.
It is important that the world focuses on ensuring that the different dimensions of human life, particularly ingestion and excretion can be handled in a dignified way, in a healthy way, in a hygienic way. This is very important for the making of a civilised world.
The well-to-do in the world have taken these things for granted. In my experience, I have seen that 20-25 years ago – if I drive in the rural regions of India – in the evenings, the car headlights fell on people, and especially women, would be sitting on the street side, because they feared going into the fields because of the reptiles, particularly the snakes. Because of that, they sit on the roadside thinking it will be dark and in case a car comes and it would light them up. They’re in a rush and what they would do with themselves always pained me so much. We worked to create hundreds of toilets, but today – fortunately – the federal government in India has taken it up to create hundreds of thousands of toilets, or literally millions of toilets across the country and this has changed the whole landscape in India, and it needs to happen across the whole world.
A simple aspect of our lives, a daily happening; if it has to be done in public, how ugly it becomes. And if it can be done in private how convenient, health and dignified it is for an individual human being.
So let us not take a simple aspect in our lives, which most people have taken for granted. Unfortunately for a large number of people, particularly women, it’s still not available in the country, there is a commitment from the civilised world to ensure that every human being has a dignified space to conduct the basic necessities of their lives like a toilet or excretion.
Let us all join together to make this World Toilet Day a great success.

Now that you know the importance and value of Toilets, what are your #ToiletAction Plans.

I pledge to build 5 Toilets for Internally Displaced Persons next year.

#Call2Action

The Greens is a grassroots environmental organization that strives to educate, inspire and engage young people to take action to combat climate change and be at the forefront of biodiversity conservation and waste management.

Founded in 2010, @thegreens have been able to use arts, sports, media and ICT to educate and engage more than 10,000 young people in Green Poetry, Green Music, Green Arts, Green Radio, and Conservation Champions League.

Her tree planting programs have seen the organization create 04 Community Tree Nurseries, planted more than 300,000 trees and together with @kedjom-keku we have acquired 1000 hectares of afromontane forest in Kedjom-Keku Village of the Bamenda Highlands of the North West Region of Cameroon for the creation and conservation of Kedjom-Keku Community Forest

@thegreens is currently engaged in Waste Management (Waste Business Hub); Plastic Waste Upcycling, Tire Upcycling and Textile Waste Recycling via @ecodesigns.
Her #EndPlasticPollution Campaign has seen the organization sensitize more than 100,000 people about plastic pollution, upcycled more than 10,000 plastic bottles to create UPB Vertical Gardens, UPB Tree Nursery Pots, etc.

Her Textile Recycling Project (@ecodesigns) is currently training 13 young girls for free in textile recycling and fashion designing and has recycled more than 5000 pounds of textile waste.

Her Tire Upcycling Project is educating and engaging young people in schools and communities to #StopBurningTires and upcycle them to create Mushroom Tire Seats, Tire Flower Pots, etc

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