According to the World Health Organisation, diarrhoeal disease is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old, and is responsible for killing around 760,000 children every year.
Research indicates that the provision of hygienic toilet facilities contributes directly to the standard of education received by pupils. There are more than 24,000 public schools in South Africa, but fewer than 8000 have flushing toilets.
While all schools have some form of sanitation facilities, in many township schools the toilets are often blocked, broken or filthy, making them unusable for large numbers of learners.
There are too few toilets for too many learners. In many school toilets, toilet paper or hand-washing facilities are non-existent.
Realising that the state of sanitation won't change overnight, Unilever SA and its household care brand Domestos embarked on a school toilet refurbishment project in South Africa in 2010 so that learners no longer have to skip lessons because of substandard sanitation.
Since then 24 schools have received new toilets (13 of them based in KZN) as part of Domestos' Brighter Future Campaign.
The latest school to receive a total makeover of its toilets is Barracuda Primary School in Newlands East, Durban, which opened in 1988 and presently has an enrolment of 1340 learners drawn from the RDP scheme Quarry Heights, Kwa Mashu, Inanda and Newlands East.
The original toilet blocks were inadequate for the growing needs of the school and, with budgetary constraints, the school was not able to maintain or improve on the facilities at the school.
Charles Folkard, the principal of Barracuda Primary School, said two blocks of toilets, one for boys and one for girls, had broken and missing doors, broken cisterns and missing seats.
"Old-fashioned urinals were leaking and basins had broken or leaking taps. The floors were bare cement, light fittings were broken and the painted walls were peeling," said Folkard, adding there was a definite link between poor sanitation and certain illnesses.
In June 2014 Domestos visited the school and recognised the urgent need to upgrade the toilet facilities.
The toilet blocks have been transformed into bright, hygienic facilities. Two dedicated janitors have been tasked with caring for the toilets and Domestos has supplied overalls, gloves and boots.
Folkard said the refurbishment of the toilets has been accepted with great enthusiasm and the learners, teachers and community were grateful to Domestos for the clean and safe sanitation facilities.
Justin Apsey, Vice-President Brand Building Home & Surface Care of Unilever South Africa, said: "While attendance rates are high among scholars in underprivileged communities in comparison to other developing countries, it remains evident that poor sanitation facilities are a major contributing factor to the school drop-out rate.
"A lack of health and hygiene awareness, coupled with inadequate sanitation facilities and infrastructure, have a negative impact on the health of the community and, ultimately, the environment.
"Healthy sanitation at schools is often overshadowed by other issues, but proper toilet facilities play a very big role in making sure children are in class each and every day.
"In an atmosphere of poor health, children are unable to fulfil their educational potential, due to absenteeism, poor concentration and lack of personal dignity.
"These unacceptable conditions engender a feeling of worthlessness which manifests in poor performance on the part of our learners."
Apsey said the Barracuda Primary School project is a fine example of business and education working together to change lives.
"As an international leader in home hygiene, Domestos is continually committed to public awareness of good health practices and this is another way of delivering an important message and uplifting not only the schools, but also the surrounding communities," he said.
Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan launched in November 2010 has set a bold target to help more than a billion people to improve their hygiene habits by 2020.
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