ABOVE: The toilet block donated by Optiven through it’s GoGreen Initiative under construction at Kiama Primary School on 18th November 2023
Optiven through it’s philanthropic arm, the Optiven Foundation has donated a toilet block that will benefit the community at Kiama Primary School. The school which is adjacent to the Success Gardens project by Optiven has been in need of the ablution block and with the development, the school community is better placed to manage it’s human waste. The contractors are on course to deliver the building not later than November 30th 2023.
ABOVE: Mr. George Wachiuri, Optiven Foundation Chairman (center) joins the teachers, parents and leaders of Korrompoi Primary School during the handover of a toilet block and food donation to the community.
The development is the second of it’s kind donation by Optiven as it works to empower communities through social and economic impact. Previously, Optiven in November 2021 donated a brand new block of toilets to the community at Korrompoi Primary School in Kajiado County at a special event that also saw Optiven Foundation distributing food under it’s #FeedONEMore initiative.
The donation was a result of partnering with Optiven Real Estate as a Green Company and in line with UN SDG Goal number 6 on clean water and sanitation. The handover of the Korrompoi Primary School toilets also coincided with the Global Toilet Day held every 19th of November under the United Nations international days observations.
The theme for the World Toilet Day 2023, “Accelerating Change for Safe Sanitation” reflects the ongoing effort to speed up the necessary changes that will result in safe sanitation practices at the global level. 24 years after it’s formation, Optiven continues in it’s pursuits to change lives across the board.
Through it’s objective of impacting society socially and economically, the company has been at the forefront of creating a positive change in the health sector thus it’s involvement in providing toilets especially to schools. The initiative which falls under the Go Green Initiative, is an opportunity to also educate and sensitize the masses on the importance of sustainable waste handling for a better environment.
Here are facts on why this engagement is important not just to the Environment Pillar of the Optiven Foundation, but to all humanity:-
- In 2023, 3.5 billion people live without access to safely managed sanitation,
- Approximately 1,000 children under five die every day from diseases caused by unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene.
- Without safely managed, sustainable sanitation, people often have no choice but to use unreliable, inadequate toilets or practice open defecation.
- Overflows and leaks from pipes and septic systems, as well as dumping or improper treatment of human waste can mean untreated human waste gets out into the environment and spreads deadly and chronic diseases such as cholera and intestinal worms.
- In a bid to help break taboos around toilets and make sanitation for all a global development priority, the United Nations designated 19 November as World Toilet Day.
- In March 2023 the world came together during the UN 2023 Water Conference convened by the UN General Assembly where it was agreed that the Water Action Agenda, a collection of new and existing voluntary commitments to take accelerated action on sanitation and water.
- The subsequent Blueprint for Acceleration: SDG 6 Synthesis Report on Water and Sanitation 2023, produced by UN-Water and launched at the 2023 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), offers actionable policy recommendations towards senior decision-makers, stakeholders, and the United Nations System to get the world on track to achieve SDG 6 – water and sanitation for all – by 2030.
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Call: +254 718 776033
Email: info@optivenfoundation.org
