Dentists at the Chipping Manor Dental Practice in Gloucestershire are the first of their profession to sign up their surgery loos to Toilet Twinning .

‘Our two NHS practices in Wotton under Edge and Cirencester have ten dentist and nurse teams and 23,000 patients and this has really captured their imagination,’ said Shaenna Loughnane, Business Development Director.

‘Our patients and staff take our clean safe toilets for granted, and for £60 we can make a tiny difference.  This is the same amount that we spend on 20 boxes of gloves that lasts a dental team 2 weeks. It would be great if we could motivate others in the dental industry to jump on board; practices spend thousands every year on  infection control and health and safety when people in these war-torn areas are dying from diseases that could be stopped if only they had clean, safe toilets,’ added Shaenna.

The dentists and their staff have already raised thousands for African and local charities; ten team members have also visited Tanzania to lend their dental skills as well as giving ten per cent of their private income to good causes.

‘But Toilet Twinning has to be the one that’s got everyone talking,’ laughed Shaenna.

West Midland firefighters have signed up to the first global Toilet Twinning Campaign to mark World Toilet Day.  The ladies and gents at the Fire Service Training Centre in Smethwick are now linked with their very own ‘twin’ latrine deep in the African bush.

Toilet Twinning is being seen as a potty way to make money and flush away poverty and is the brainchild of Midland charity Cord which works in Africa and Asia with the victims of war and violent conflict. For just £60 every twinner receives a picture of their exclusive twin latrine to hang in their loo, complete with its Google Earth location so they can pinpoint it in the remote Rutana Province of Burundi.

40 per cent of the world populations - 2.6 billion people don’t have access to a toilet. Left lying around human waste is a killer and the latrines, scattered amongst hill villages are being built by families returning after 14 years exile in the refugee camps of neighbouring Tanzania. Made of hand made bricks and with corrugated roofs, concrete slabs and deep pits the latrines are bringing sanitation and improved health to thousands of people who lost everything in the long civil war.

‘Firefighters by their nature are always willing to help people regardless of who they are or where they live. This issue touched the hearts of the West Midlands Service and we saw this as an easy way to make a difference,’ said Group Commander Mark Taylor, Head of Incident Command.

So far some 750 families, schools, cathedrals, businesses and venues from around the globe have twinned their toilets, raising over £50,000 for Cord’s programmes. Meanwhile the Millennium Development Goals for sanitation will not be met until the 22nd century - that’s 80 years after the deadline.

To support the World’s First Toilet Twinning log on to www.toilettwinning.org or call 01926 315301

Sunday 6 December, 7pm
The Pump Rooms, Leamington Spa, UK

Cord invites you to join us for a ‘Celebration of Christmas’ hosted by BBC Midlands Today presenter and our Ambassador, Sarah Falkland.

Kick start your Christmas with an evening of festive music and cheer and support our programmes in Chad with young refugees from Darfur and in Northern Uganda, Burundi and Cambodia.

The concert features music from the internationally renowned a capella gospel group Black Voices and, fresh from their New York tour, the Stratford upon Avon Girls’ Jazz Band.

We will be lighting the Cord Peace Tree to highlight our work with people affected by violent conflict in Africa and Asia. Musical Director for the event is Trevor Barr of Warwick School.

Tickets include mince pies and mulled wine cost £10 or £5 for under 12s.

To reserve yours call the Cord Box Office on 01926 315301 or click "add to basket" to buy online!

Please print out your order comfirmation as it is also your ticket!