Feel Good Friday - Toilet Twinning

You’ve heard of sister cities, but have you heard of Toilet Twinning? If not, then you’ll want to keep reading to learn more about today’s Feel Good Friday organization.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in the town of Bournemouth, in the United Kingdom, Toilet Twinning is a unique, quirky way to support people who don't have access to safe and clean toilets.

First a bit about the problem. As they explain on their website, “currently, 3.5 billion people lack access to safely managed sanitation, and around 2 billion people worldwide are without access to safely managed drinking water.“ This lack of basic sanitation affects people’s education and livelihoods. In addition, “1,000 children die every day from diseases related to poor sanitation, unhealthy hygiene or unsafe drinking water.” That’s where Toilet Twinning comes in.

By encouraging people to twin toilets in their homes with toilets around the world, Toilet Twinning raises money for Tearfund which is then used to support projects that help families to build their own basic toilet, access clean water and learn about sanitation and hygiene. This work takes place in communities across 50 countries where poverty is extreme and where governments do not provide adequate water and sanitation.

The process to twin your toilet costs 60 pounds (about 80 USD) and is very straightforward. Pick a color for your certificate and the country where you want your twin to be located. Right now there are 12 options including Malawi, Nepal and Pakistan. You’ll see a picture of your toilet twin and can then customize your certificate before placing your order. You’ll be sent either a digital or framed photo of your toilet twin and it’s location which you can then post in your bathroom to raise awareness of the program. Toilet Twinning says that approximately 20% of their donations come from people who’ve seen a certificate in someone else’s bathroom!

In addition to twinning your toilet, there are other ways you can support the water, sanitation and hygiene work being done around the globe. Make a donation to Toilet Twinning and amplify their work on social media by following them on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Feel Good Friday - Fences For Fido

August is National Dog Month and we’re going to celebrate by learning about an organization improving the lives of dogs, Fences for Fido.

Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the mission of Fences for Fido is “to improve the quality of life for dogs who spend most or all hours confined to a chain.”

Let’s start with why this is a problem. “The Centers for Disease Control and the American Veterinary Medical Association warn that chained dogs are about 3 times more likely to bite and have more behavior problems. It’s also difficult to provide good care to a chained dog because chains catch on obstacles, putting dogs at risk of strangulation and injury, or leaving them unable to reach their food, water, or shelter.”

Fences for Fido is addressing this issue by building fences for families who keep their dogs on chains, tethers, or in small enclosures. They also provide an insulated doghouse for each dog, spay/neuter services and emergency veterinary care when needed. While the average cost for these services is $800, Fences for Fido works with volunteers and provides these resources free of charge. Click this link to request a fence for you or someone else.

In their first year they built 75 fences that enabled dogs to run free in their yards. Now Fences for Fido builds an average of 13 fences a month and estimates they’ve built over 1,500 fences and unchained more than 2,200 dogs across Oregon and Southern Washington. You can read through these testimonials to see how being unchained has improved the lives and happiness of  so many dogs. 

In addition to the work they do in their communities, Fences for Fido supports and mentors new unchaining groups throughout the United States. 

If you’d like to support Fences for Fido and live in Oregon, you can sign up to volunteer your time and fence building skills. The rest of us can make a donation and amplify their work on social media by following Fences for Fido on Facebook or Instagram.

 

Feel Good Friday - Elephants Alive

Tuesday is World Elephant Day, an international event dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world's elephants. That makes today the perfect Friday to highlight the work being done by Elephants Alive. 

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Hoedspruit, Limpopo, South Africa, the mission of Elephants Alive is “to ensure the survival of elephants and their habitats, and to promote the harmonious co-existence of elephants and people.”

Elephants are a keystone species, meaning they have a disproportionately large effect on their natural environment relative to their abundance. According to the Elephants Alive website, in the last 100 years Africa’s elephants have declined by 97%. That’s why the work they do is so important. You can watch this one-minute video for a quick overview or keep reading for more details.

A main focus of Elephants Alive is tracking the movements of elephants. In the last 29 years, they have collared and tracked over 200 elephants and identified and named 2000 more. This enables them to to inform reserve managers, conservationists and landowners about elephants seasonal activities and vegetation impact. It also allows them to find ways to reduce human-elephant conflict. 

Tracking allowed Elephants Alive to identify elephant corridors across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Eswatini, and then work with local farmers in those corridors to develop alternative sustainable livelihoods to supplement their incomes and increase their economic resilience.

Elephants Alive has also been tracking trees. Since 2004, they’ve monitored 3000+ individual trees to understand elephant impact. This includes trees containing nesting sites of endangered birds such as the southern ground hornbill. 

The program that brings it all together is the Bees, Trees, Elephants and People program. Elephants don’t like bees, so Elephants Alive trains people how to install beehives in trees to protect them from elephant impact. In addition, the bees pollinate the trees and community members make “elephant friendly” honey and beeswax products to sell. There is an all-female anti-poaching unit in southern Mozambique called the Black Mambas who has installed 100 beehives!

Relocating elephants that wander off private game reserves, removing snares, and rescuing orphaned elephant calves round out their work with the elephants. Their community awareness work includes training the Black Mambas, introducing grandmothers to the study elephants and engaging young people from disadvantaged communities in wildlife through photography.

If this has inspired you to support Elephants Alive and the work they do, you can make a donation and become an elephant guardian and as always, amplify their work on social media. Follow Elephants Alive on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and subscribe to their YouTube channel. Happy World Elephant Day!