Bathroom retailer Ripples is celebrating the successful completion and official inauguration of a brand-new girls’ toilet block at the Government Higher Secondary School in P. Pudupatti, India. The facility, built in partnership with the sanitation charity The Cycle, will provide 140 female students and 15 female teachers with safe, dignified and hygienic sanitation facilities for the first time.
The initiative was made possible thanks to over £20,000 raised by Ripples through a Mount Snowdon charity hike in June 2024. More than 30 participants, including franchisees, designers, suppliers and friends of the brand, braved harsh weather conditions to ascend over 1,000metres to Wales' highest peak in support of The Cycle’s mission to improve sanitation in underprivileged communities.
Prior to this project, female students at the school had access to just one broken squat pan, forcing them to navigate muddy, unsafe conditions and increasing their risk of infections and safety concerns. Now, with the completion of the new facility, students and teachers have access to a fully equipped toilet block featuring toilets, a separate changing room with a manual incinerator for menstrual waste, improved pathways, a new handwashing station and a safe drinking water facility using a terracotta filter.
Beyond the construction, the initiative also bolstered The Cycle’s ‘Happy Periods’ training programme to, educating students about menstrual hygiene. Sustainable hygiene kits, including antimicrobial reusable sanitary pads and towels, were distributed to all girls to further support long-term health and wellbeing. The charity will also conduct ongoing monitoring to ensure the facilities remain well-maintained and that hygiene practices continue to be upheld.
Paul Crow, MD of Ripples, said: “We are incredibly proud to see this life-changing project completed and officially opened. Having supported The Cycle for over a decade and raised more than £85,000 to aid their crucial work, we know just how transformative these sanitation solutions can be. The Snowdon challenge was an incredible way to raise awareness and funds and seeing the impact firsthand is truly humbling. These new facilities will improve the health, dignity, and education of young girls for years to come.”
