The UNSTOPPABLE TOGETHER campaign by Baby Soft® and Domestos is making a real difference - 300 Eastern Cape schools have already seen the results, and Gauteng schools are next in line. By improving hygiene standards and creating safer school environments, this campaign is giving thousands of children the chance to learn in clean, healthy spaces. Here’s how UNSTOPPABLE TOGETHER is helping build brighter futures, one school at a time.
In 2024, Baby Soft® partnered with Domestos and the Department of Basic Education on a powerful, collaborative initiative to address the issue of “toilet loss” – the widespread neglect and improper maintenance of school toilets. The UNSTOPPABLE TOGETHER campaign aimed to improve the maintenance of school toilets and enable safe, clean and usable sanitation facilities for school children.
Baby Soft®, Domestos and the Department of Basic Education are proud to announce the results of the campaign’s endline audit. Major improvements across several key indicators paint a picture of meaningful progress. However, the journey towards universal access to safe, dignified sanitation in schools is far from over.
Positive outcomes
The UNSTOPPABLE TOGETHER campaign kicked off in 2024 with the implementation of a baseline audit, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the extent to which South African schools experience lack of access to functional sanitation facilities. 300 schools in the Eastern Cape made up the first cohort of beneficiaries. Together, these schools represent a total of 99 043 learners aged between 5 to 14 years old.
With the release of the results of the endline audit assessing the efficacy of the campaign, Baby Soft® Brand Manager, Siyolise Shinga is confident that UNSTOPPABLE TOGETHER was a resounding success. “Overall, the number of school toilets meeting minimum criteria has increased substantially. 44% of toilet cubicles overall passed the endline audit, up from only 8% at the start of the campaign. These results are testament to what’s possible when we work together.”
Findings: Essential supplies make all the difference
With the support of the Department of Basic Education, fieldworkers from Baby Soft and Domestos visited schools in the cohort to provide each school with a set of cleaning tools and supplies.
The endline audit found that 79% of schools now have access to bleach, compared to just 67% at the start of the campaign. Similarly, 49% of participating schools now have uniforms for their cleaning staff – up from 35%.
The biggest improvement was noted in the availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks and gloves, which only 31% of schools had at the time of the baseline audit. The endline audit reported a major increase of 62%, bringing the percentage of schools that now have access to PPE to 93%.
Another significant stride was made in terms of the availability of toilet paper in school toilets. The baseline audit found that only 61% of schools provided toilet paper to learners. By the end of the campaign, this had increased to 99%.
“When a child can use a clean toilet with access to toilet paper, and when a cleaner is properly equipped and protected, it sends a powerful message: you matter. These are the foundations of respect, health, and human rights; and we’re proud to play a part in helping schools uphold them,” says Siyolise.
Education fuels empowerment and sustainable improvement
The campaign also involved an educational component that sought to provide cleaners with the training they needed to become more effective in their role and to create administrative systems that could make their work more efficient for sustained cleanliness.
According to Siyolise, the use of a cleaning roster skyrocketed from just 1.7% in the baseline audit, to 43% in the endline audit. “Likewise, where only 0.3% of schools were making use of a daily cleaning checklist for cleaners, the campaign ended with 42% of schools using this simple method to track their duties.”
Collectively, Siyolise says these simple but powerful interventions enabled an increased frequency in the cleaning of school toilets. Prior to the campaign, the baseline survey revealed that only 23% of toilets were being cleaned at least once a day. He says this has since increased to 48%.
Cleaners who were empowered through the campaign also reported feeling more positive about their roles, with 79% of cleaners feeling extremely motivated to take care of school toilets in the endline audit, compared to 64% at the launch of the campaign.
“Fieldworkers also collated a number of heartwarming comments from school cleaning staff. Many reported feeling a sense of pride and purpose in their ability to make a difference in the lives of learners,” says Siyolise.
Sustainable change requires sustained support
Although there have been notable improvements, Siyolise says there is still a long road ahead to ensure lasting change in school sanitation.
“The data gathered through this process serves as a powerful starting point – providing clear evidence of what’s working and where urgent attention is still needed to ensure long-term, sustainable change,” says Siyolise.
Onwards to schools in Gauteng
Armed with these invaluable insights, Baby Soft® and Domestos have announced that the UNSTOPPABLE TOGETHER campaign will kick off in Gauteng this year. As a continuation of the work that has begun in the Eastern Cape, the next leg of the campaign will see schools throughout Gauteng benefiting from having safer, cleaner toilets.
“We know that lasting change doesn’t happen overnight – it takes listening, learning, and staying the course,” says Siyolise. “This next phase is about deepening our impact, not just by showing up, but by showing up better informed and better prepared.”
Siyolise concludes by thanking all South African consumers who support Baby Soft® and Domestos. “With your help, we’ve set off in the direction of real change.”
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UNSTOPPABLE TOGETHER campaign by Baby Soft® and Domestos delivers huge results for 300 Eastern Cape schools—Gauteng schools are next.
