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SINGAPORE : Catholic High Primary School has transformed its toilets into works of art, as part of Earth Day, which falls on April 22.
Now known as 'Happy Toilets', they are also meant to inspire good washroom habits.
The toilets now come in various themes, with some taking users on an underwater adventure or even to a fairytale land.
But the toilets are not just good to look at, they also serve to inform users of proper washroom habits.
Teo Xue Heng, Primary 5 Student, Catholic High Primary, said: "There are also signs to tell people how they should wash their hands and flush the toilet after use.
"When people go into the toilet, sometimes the designs get them attracted as well. They see the posters at the same time, so they will take notice of them and practise (good washroom habits) in their daily lives."
It took 10 boys to transform each of the four toilets, and they worked on this project for three months. That translates to three hours of painting after school each week.
Xue Heng explained, "We had to sketch out a part. At one point, our sketch went missing, so we had to do it again. It was tiresome, but quite fun, because all of us actually cooperated to design this toilet."
The teacher in charge, Eugenia Ong, elaborated: "The boys actually did the brainstorming in class during art lesson, and then they sketched out their designs on paper.
"After that, the parents and the teachers helped by making the ideas more feasible, and creating the design on the cubicle doors itself. Then the boys came in - they stayed back after curriculum hours to do the general background and simple painting."
Less than S$300 was spent on this project and the money came from a special fund under the National Environment Agency (NEA).
The revamped toilets are part of the Happy Toilet School Education Programme, which was launched in 2005. Since then, about 220 schools have recreated their toilets.
Tan Puay Hoon, President of the Restroom Association, said: "If you want to do something well, it is important for you to love the things. So you need to let the kids love the toilets. Once they love the toilets, they will know how to take care of the toilets."
The Restroom Association has awarded Catholic High Primary the 'Gold Award' for their 'Happy Toilets'.
Ms Tan revealed that the Restroom Association has plans to widen the scale of the Happy Toilets School Education Programme. It will launch a nationwide 'Loo Campaign', starting in June.
The aim is for all toilets in Singapore to be cleaned up by 2010, in time for the Youth Olympic Games. - CNA/ms
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