Visit Toilet Stories, our digital photo exhibition

Portrait of Theresia Ukwitegetse, 80. She's a widow with three children. "When you die, people gather in your home. They walk around you, and one by one, they say goodbye. Dying in a place that you like, means a lot." Gitwa Village, Rwanda. Image has  ...
Image: WaterAid/ People's Postcode Lottery/ Elena Heatherwick

Photographed by Elena Heatherwick, written by Sally Williams, produced by WaterAid and supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery - Toilet Stories explores the lives of those with very different toilet experiences. 

To mark World Toilet Day on 19 November, this exhibition includes stories and portraits from Rwanda, Madagascar and the UK. It explores the lives of those affected by a lack of decent toilets - one in four people globally - and those whose lives have been transformed by them. 

Without decent toilets, disease spreads fast. When people have no choice but to go to the loo in the open, germs get into water and food, spreading diseases like diarrhoea and cholera. It’s also undignified to go without cover and unsafe, especially for women and children.

On top of this, climate change is having a devastating effect. Extreme weather - such as severe flooding and droughts - is destroying sanitation systems and disrupting clean water supplies.

Read stories and view striking photographs in our virtual exhibition, Toilet Stories. 

Visit the exhibition