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Blackburn’s Mark Balla, founded We Can’t Wait Foundation helping Indian women access toilets

MARK Balla was horrified to find out how few Indian schools had toilets — and how it was affecting females’ education. He’s been lauded as The Toilet Warrior for his incredible work to turn things around.

Mark Balla’s charity work has changed the lives of thousands. Picture: Stuart Milligan
Mark Balla’s charity work has changed the lives of thousands. Picture: Stuart Milligan

TO THOUSANDS of people, Mark Balla is ‘The Toilet Warrior’.

It’s a title that doesn’t initially sound particularly desirable to those of us who live in the first world.

But in India — where people are more likely to have a smartphone than access to a toilet — Mr Balla is a hero.

More than two hundred students ran to greet The Toilet Warrior when he visited their school, competing to get an autograph and a selfie with him.

His project has changed daily life for more than 30,000 of them.

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Mr Balla has been campaigning to have more toilets built at Indian schools since 2014, determined to raise the rate of teenage girls being educated.

He was on a business trip in 2014 when he was given a tour by some locals.

They showed him their school, where he noticed there weren’t female students.

The boys told him the girls left school because there weren’t any toilets.

Mr Balla went on to discover females dropping out of school when they reached puberty was a common issue — they did it to avoid going to the toilet in the open, especially when they had their period.

Mark Balla’s charity work has changed the lives of thousands. Picture: Stuart Milligan
Mark Balla’s charity work has changed the lives of thousands. Picture: Stuart Milligan

His “most incredible experience” was when he stumbled upon a class of 25 primary school students taught by one 25-year-old woman.

Even though she travelled two hours each way to teach, the woman refused to drink water so she would not need to go to a bathroom during the day — because there wasn’t one.

Every month, when she had her period, the class shut down.

“There’s no excuse under the sun that makes this stuff acceptable,” Mr Balla said.

He started the We Can’t Wait Foundation, which funded a toilet for the school.

Mark Balla started We Can’t Wait Foundation, after discovering Indian girls dropped out of school because there were no toilets.
Mark Balla started We Can’t Wait Foundation, after discovering Indian girls dropped out of school because there were no toilets.

Now the class runs every day, and the teacher has told him she enjoys being able to drink water freely.

As a Blackburn resident, Mr Balla took the project to Box Hill Central Rotary Club in its early phase, where a committee have worked to build it up.

They speak to schools, clubs and companies, and at events, to urge people to help fundraise in any way they can.

They put the money raised back into the Indian economy, employing locals to build the toilets with local supplies.

The project also works to educate people about hygiene i.e. washing hands after going to the toilet.

Mr Balla is a hero to thousands of Indians.
Mr Balla is a hero to thousands of Indians.

Many of the team’s lessons have been built into the curriculum at the schools they have helped.

By the end of next year, an estimated 100,000 children’s lives will have been changed by toilets Box Hill Central Rotary Club has funded.

The club also supports a range of local, national and other international projects, heralded by other members.

In the last 12 years, it’s funded 11,000 cleft palate operations in Bangladesh.

And The Toilet Warrior has been taking his work even further.

A year ago, he quit his day job to put all his energy towards the charity.

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He’s on the board of a range of international toilet organisations to help improve basic sanitisation.

Last year, he chaired the World Toilet Summit in Melbourne, and in 2015 he gave a Ted Talk. He’s also writing a book on the issue, titled A journey to the toilet.

Mr Balla will be speaking at a breakfast at the Rotary Club of Box Hill Central on Wednesday morning.

Anyone is welcome to attend.

It will be held at Box Hill Golf Club from 7-8.30am.

Entry costs $20 and includes breakfast.

Details: mark@balla.com.au

serena.seyfort@news.com.au

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/east/mark-balla-also-known-as-the-toilet-warrior-is-helping-struggling-indians-get-basic-access-to-toilets/news-story/82533c18c161ddbc2da2011a71619c1c