IF you’re fond of toilet humour then you could do worse than head along to Christ Church Community Centre’s first birthday charity event.

On January 17, to mark the first anniversary of the opening of the community centre in Old Town, a special fundraising event will take place which will help the centre twin their seven toilets to toilets in poorer countries.

Many towns around the country are twinned to others worldwide, like Swindon is to Ocotal in Nicaragua and Salzgitter in Germany.

But now the community centre wants to do the same, but with lavatories. To celebrate the birthday, and to raise money for charities Tearfund and Cord, the community centre hopes to twin their toilets across some of the poorest countries in the world –which costs £60 each to twin.

Chris Smith, development manager at the community centre, said: “You’ve heard of towns being twinned – well now is the opportunity to twin a loo with a toilet in a poorer country such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burundi, Cambodia, The Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Uganda or Zambia.

"I would like to be able to twin each of our seven toilets with some of these countries.

“The reason that we’re doing this is that one in three people across the world don’t have a safe place to go to the toilet. Bad sanitation is one of the world’s biggest killers; it hits women, children, old and sick people hardest.

“Every minute, three children under the age of five die because of dirty water and poor sanitation. And, right at this minute, around half the people in the world have an illness caused by bad sanitation.

“The money raised will enable people living in poor communities to have clean water, a decent toilet, and to learn about hygiene – a vital combination that prevents the spread of disease, reduces the number of deaths among children, and brings hope for the future.”

The fundraiser, which will take place from 7pm to 10pm at the community centre, will involve a range of toilet related games including toilet roll bowling, mummification by toilet roll, spend a penny, quiz rounds and other activities. There will also be a raffle, which will include toilet related items, and an auction.

One of the items included in the auction will be the chance to twin your own toilet at home with toilets in the other countries, and 10 people will be able to take away a picture of their twinned toilet on the night.

Teams of between four to six people can enter for £15 a team, while individuals can take part for £2.50 each.

Chris is also looking for donations towards the raffle and auction.

For more information, to donate or to enter a team call Chris on 01793 617237 or 07582 305760 or email chris.smith@ccccswindon.co.uk.