By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG
When one thinks of the places they feel the most at peace, chances are they don’t think of their toilet, but Pinky Wong with Four In One Prime Services Company in Valemount is looking to change that.
Wong is hoping to raise local awareness of World Toilet Day, held annually on November 19th. Established by the World Toilet Organization in 2001, the initiative aims to inspire action to combat the global sanitation crisis, which impacts about 3.5 billion people worldwide. World Toilet Day has been observed by the United Nations since 2013.
The United Nations’ water and sanitation organization, UN-Water, sets a new theme for World Toilet Day each year. Previous themes range from environmental issues to gender equity: the 2018 theme “When nature calls” tackled the issue of sewage damaging the environment, while the 2014 theme “Equality and dignity” emphasized the importance of having a safe, clean place to use the restroom.
This year’s theme, “Sanitation for peace,” resonated with Wong, given her experience running a cleaning company. The theme draws attention to how war and violence can impede access to sanitation, which has knock-on effects on a community’s health and well-being.
“We clean the toilet every time we do a job. That’s why I know it’s a place we need to keep clean, and how important it is to a business or a family that it is cleaned well,” Wong said. “Your health, everything in your life is affected by it.”
Wong says that children who grow up in Canada may not realize that people in other parts of the world don’t have access to safe and clean sanitary services.
“I have two kids, and I want them to know that what [they] have right now is not something every kid can get,” she said. “And maybe they’ll learn that sanitation is important, washing their hands is important, keeping the toilet clean is important.”
To get kids thinking about the importance of proper sanitation, Wong and her company are encouraging Valemount children ages five to 12 to create posters in line with the “Sanitation for peace” theme. Posters can be hand-drawn or digitally created, and can be submitted through the World Toilet Day page on the Four In One Prime Services website at https://tinyurl.com/4teyf87n. They can also be emailed to Wong at [email protected]. Submissions are due November 19th.
“Toilets should be a safe place for everybody,” Wong said. “Some schools in other countries don’t have a safe toilet, and the health of the kids who study in those schools is really affected. I want to get this important message to the kids.”
