Golden Poo Award Winners

Uganda’s Minister of State for Water Jennifer Namuyangu Byakatonda is one of the winners of a Golden Poo Award. The minister was the winner in the Sanitation Champion category.

The award ceremony took place on Thursday 15th October in the Prince Charles Cinema in London. The event was organised by PooP Creative and sponsored by the London School for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the UK Department for International Development (DfID) as part of the Global Handwashing Day activities in the UK.

The Golden Poo Award for Hygiene Champion went to Mary Swai and Rebecca Budimu from Tanzania.

Golden Poo Award winners Rebecca Budimu (back left) and Mary Swai (back right) with children in Tanzania. Photo: UNICEF

Mary Swa is Head of the Environmental Sanitation and Hygiene section of the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and Rebecca Budimu is WASH Specialist from UNICEF Tanzania’s Young Child Survival and Development Section. The award was collected by the High Commissioner of Tanzania on behalf of the winners.

Ms. Budimu has been working with UNICEF as a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) specialist for the past 14 years, often as the only WASH staff member in the country. As a child, Rebecca’s family did not have a latrine, but instead used the bush. This experience reinforced her commitment and understanding for adoption of good hygiene and sanitation practices – particularly at the household level.

In her work, Ms. Budimu has focused on raising awareness about the benefits of improved hygiene and sanitation issues as well as championed and supported local artisans on latrine construction.

Ms. Swai has spearheaded the development and revision of hygiene promotion tools in Tanzania. She advocates for increased community engagement and innovative approaches as viable solutions.

Golden Poo Award video

The remaining Gold Poo Awards went to the winners of an animated film competition set up by PooP Creative and The London International Animation Festival. The audience in the Prince Charles Cinema gave their votes to:

• Number ONE film Dancing In The Loo by Delphine Mandin
• Number TWO film A Film About Poo by Emily Howells and Anne Wilkins
• Runner-up film Are You Spreading Poo? by Rob and Tom Sears

The final prize, the SUDS! Hygiene Poster Competition Golden Poo Certificate, was jointly awarded to Chloe Izzard and Amy Murphy.

Below are three prize winning animation films.

Number ONE film Dancing In The Loo by Delphine Mandin

Number TWO film A Film About Poo by Emily Howells and Anne Wilkins

Runner-up film Are You Spreading Poo? by Rob and Tom Sears

Source: Golden Poo Awards web site ; UNICEF, 16 Oct 2009