Breadline Africa, in partnership with investment banker Mark Barnes, is raising R156-million to replace dangerous pit toilets at 240 schools in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.

If there is one thing all South Africans can agree on, it's that the scourge of pit toilets in schools needs to be eliminated. Across the country, these outdated and dangerous facilities continue to put the health and safety of learners at risk.

The nonprofit organisation Breadline Africa, in partnership with South African investment banker Mark Barnes, is tackling the problem head-on with a campaign to raise R156-million to replace 4,000 pit toilets at 240 schools in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape.

Since March this year, thanks to their efforts, pit toilets at two KZN schools have been replaced with low-flush facilities.

"Our campaign is raising R156-million. It's a lot of money, but it's nothing in the context of the difference it can make in how people feel about themselves," said Barnes, who has pledged support for the campaign and is leading its corporate fundraising.

"What we need here is a universal self-worth that is absent in our country ... and if we get that, then, suddenly, people aren't just in school to get a qualification - they're there to learn. We get to [a] higher level of meaning and purpose when the basics are looked after."

The partnership between...