ESSE staff complete the KBB cycle from London to Paris

Staff from one of our stove suppliers ESSE haver just completed a cycle ride in aid of The Sanitation First charity.

Esse staff completed the charity KBB cycle from London to Paris. Riding onto the Champs-Elysees in a group of cyclists all in the same kit was the highlight.

The cycling was the fun bit but it is good when we can make a difference and raise some funds for a good cause.  If you would like to donate please help ESSE sales director Mark reach his personal fundraising target of £500. A link to his total giving page is at the bottom of this post.

Sanitation First is a small but really good charity and through their efforts and the funds our cycle raises a small village of 493 people in a third world country will have sanitation facilities which we take for granted.  The toilet block that will be built as a result of the charity effort will allow girls to go to school and receive an education.

https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/esse

The Demographics of Kattiyankuppam Around 260 families live in surrounding areas of this school, and the majority of the livelihoods of these families come from the agricultural industry. Due to an increase in the mechanisation of agriculture, many people cannot get work throughout the year. The vast majority of the children who attend this school belong to the lowest castes in Indian society, which means that they are in a particularly poor economic position.

Current Sanitation Facilities The school’s current sanitation facilities are in an unusable condition. There is also no private washroom or incinerator for the girls, which means that the female students aren’t able to privately manage their menstruation. The headmaster has told us that girls do not attend school when they are menstruating, because of a lack in facilities.

What will Sanitation First do? Firstly, Sanitation First will be constructing two separate sanitary blocks, one for boys and one for girls. In the girls’ facility, there will be a private washroom and incinerator. The toilets that we build in schools are always cheerful and colourful, with painted murals on the walls that tell children all about the benefits of hand-washing and clean sanitation.