Boys climb, cycle, canoe and swim to buy toilets for third world countries

June 16, 2016

Compassionate schoolboys have taken on a series of demanding physical challenges to help provide 25 toilets for poor communities with no proper sanitation.

A group of 10 Form III pupils in Hereford House at Monmouth School has pushed themselves to the limit to raise more than £1,500 for the Toilet Twinning organisation.

The charity provides people in the poorest communities on the planet with a decent toilet, clean water and all the information they need to stay healthy.

Hereford House Charity FundraisingBilly, 14, canoed 41 miles down the River Wye over two days to raise a total of £220 in sponsorship money.

He said: “It was very difficult, but luckily my dad was with me as well.

“It was non-stop – the first day was very demanding! It was the School that pushed us on and it felt like a nice thing to do for a good cause. This will give people an easier way of life thanks to safe sanitation and toilets.”

And Joe, 14, ran 5km every day for five days to raise a total of £205.64 for the cause.

He said: “When we were choosing which charity to support, we felt that Toilet Twinning was a good way to help a large number of people. My first few runs were quite easy but my legs were starting to hurt towards the end. I’ve never run more than two days in a row before.”

Edward kick-started the fundraising in the Lake District during the October half term last year when he overcame his fear of heights to climb the 950-metre high Helvellyn. The 14-year-old raised £248 with help from patients and staff at his father’s GP practice, Kingstone Surgery near Hereford.

“I’m not a big fan of heights,” he said.

“I was quite relieved when I reached the top and stayed away from the edge. As a House (at Monmouth School), we decided to support Toilet Twinning because it’s unique and it will help quite a lot of people.

“We can also zoom in to the location where the toilets will be on Google Maps, so we can see the sort of communities we’re helping.”

Half of the money Edward raised has been used to install one toilet in Pakistan and another in Bangladesh. These will be twinned with the loos at Kingstone Surgery.

The rest of the sponsorship funds, along with the rest of the money raised by Hereford House, will be used to twin Monmouth School’s toilet block with a new school block in the developing world, which is yet to be chosen.

“I was thinking about helping the charity which provides a family with a cow, but this helps more than just one family,” Edward added.

“One toilet costs £60 and the rest of the money goes towards clean water and teaching people about good sanitation – how to wash their hands properly. It could save people’s lives.”

Mark Tamplin, Housemaster of Hereford House, thinks tradition plays a big part in encouraging the boys to raise as much as possible for charity each year.

He said: “Hereford House has a good, long tradition of fundraising. The House has raised £24,000 over 13 years in just the Third Form.

“The tradition helps to motivate them every year. Once the ball is rolling and they have the momentum, they just want to carry it on. The boys are very keen to help other people. They know they are privileged people, supported by their parents and teachers and this is their way of giving something back.”

One boy, Ben, swam the length of the English Channel – 33km – to raise £258.40.

Alastair took on a 20km bike ride to raise £200, William cycled 37km to raise £90, Raphael collected £80 for his bike ride from Ross to Monmouth, and Kyah ran seven miles for £40 in sponsorship money. Charles raised £60 with a 20 mile bike ride and William contributed £90 in donations thanks to cycling 37km.

Well done boys!