Greeting cards can help you wish your friends a happy birthday, congratulate newlyweds on their wedding day and confess your love for a crush. But how do you tell someone that you give a s#!t about them?
International water, sanitation and hygiene non-government organisation WaterAid has found the solution by creating the first Poop-up card, a greeting card that reveals a 3D smiling poo when opened up. Underneath the pop-up poo reads the heartwarming message: "I give a s#!t about you".
The card's release coincides with World Toilet Day on Monday 19 November, an internationally-recognised United Nations day dedicated to taking action to ensure that everyone has a safe toilet by 2030.
WaterAid hopes the card will not only bring people together through a mutual appreciation of poo (and toilet jokes), but will raise funds for clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene.
1 in 3 people worldwide still don't have access to a decent toilet. Because of this, hundreds of thousands of children under five die from diarrhoeal-related diseases every year.
All proceeds from the $12 Poop-up card will support WaterAid's efforts to make toilets a more normal part of everyday life.
WaterAid Chief Executive Rosie Wheen believes that part of the solution to the global sanitation crisis is eliminating the social taboos of talking about toilets and excrement.
"It's important that we have a conversation about poo and how dangerous it is to some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people.
"2.3 billion people worldwide still don't have a decent toilet of their own. Every two minutes, a child under five dies because of diarrhoeal-related diseases caused by dirty water and poor toilets.
"People often shy away from talking about poo and toilets, but it's about time we change the conversation to make sure governments and policy makers across the world take proper action on this issue."
The Poop-up card is part of WaterAid's Gifts for Life range, which includes a catalogue of cards, including Christmas-themed gifts.
Cards start at $13 for "perfect pipes" to pipe water to a village. Christmas shoppers can also give someone "into plumbing" a water system toolkit for $50, provide "water works" to train a woman to maintain a village water supply for $100 or say "tanks a lot" for $140 to help buy a water tank.
The Poop-up card was illustrated by Melbourne writer, illustrator and zine maker Cameron Baker.
The Poop-up card is available at https://www.wateraidgifts.org.au/products/poop-up-card
More Gifts for Life products are available at https://www.wateraidgifts.org.au/
To mark World Toilet Day, WaterAid has also launched a report on the State of the World's Toilets. "The Crisis In The Classroom" is available at https://washmatters.wateraid.org/wtd18
Image links: Front cover | Inside | Back cover
