Toilets go mainstage at Ireland’s Christian festivals
Portable loos are the mainstay of camping at Christian festivals – but in Northern Ireland this summer toilets are going mainstage.
Festivals–goers at Summer Madness and Catalyst will be invited to join a quirky campaign to twin their toilets with latrines in poor nations. In fact, they’re being challenged to raise enough funds to twin 100 toilets – about the number of portable loos on site over the festival period.
Northern Ireland’s premier Christian festivals for young people and young adults starts next week at the Glenarm Castle Estate: 20–22 June for Catalyst; 27 June to 1 July for Summer Madness.
Both festivals are supporting Toilet Twinning, a partnership between Tearfund and Cord, which raises funds for communities in some of the poorest nations on the planet, providing households with a safe, decent loo, clean water and vital hygiene education.
Festival organiser Jasper Rutherford of Church Army decided to support Toilet Twinning after he visited Uganda with Tearfund Northern Ireland earlier this year. He was one of a number of key Christian leaders who saw poverty first–hand when they travelled to the slums of Kampala to see the work of Tearfund partner, COBAP (Community–based AIDS Programme).
‘Going to the toilet is a necessity not a luxury,’ says Jasper. ‘Some of us complain about using portable loos for a long weekend at a festival, which are cleaned twice a day! I was simply moved to act out of a respect for the incredible people I met in Uganda.’
Jasper will be showing films and talking about the work of Tearfund and Toilet Twinning to bring life–saving sanitation in countries such as Uganda on each day of the two festivals.
David Cavan, Tearfund Northern Ireland’s Youth and Emerging Generations Coordinator, is excited that Tearfund’s long–standing connection with Summer Madness continues this year. ‘We’re very aware of the massive impact that Summer Madness has had on young people over the years and we’re really delighted and encouraged by their passion to help people in developing nations have proper sanitation and the dignity that brings.’
Toilet Twinning CEO Lorraine Kingsley cites the recent tragedy of two girls in India, who were raped and murdered after lack of a latrine forced them to go to the toilet outside in the dark. She says: ‘The most appalling thing about the global sanitation crisis is that this is easily preventable, with simple low–cost solutions such as latrines and basic hygiene education. We’re so grateful to Summer Madness and Catalyst for highlighting the issue and doing something practical to change lives.’
Summer Madness is Ireland’s largest Christian festival for young people, drawing thousands of young people from across Ireland (www.summermadness.co.uk). This year sees the launch of a brand–new festival, Catalyst, aimed at young adults in their 20s and 30s (www.catalystireland.com).
For each £60 raised for Toilet Twinning, festival–goers will be able to award a certificate with a colour photo of the twinned latrine (and its GPS coordinates) to beneficiary toilets of their choosing.