Diplomats to raise funds for toilet construction in village

Diplomats of several countries based in the national capital will raise funds to make at least one village open defecation-free by participating in a two-day tennis tournament starting here on April 16, an official statement said.
The unique initiative 'Tennis4Toilets' has been conceived by the ambassadors of Guatemala, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Chile in cooperation with Sulabh International.
The tournament will be held with the cooperation of All India Tennis Association. It will take place at RK Khanna stadium on April 16 and the final match and award ceremony will be held at embassy of Serbia the next day, the statement said.

Besides the diplomats and their administrative staff, local representatives from different organisations and schools will also participate in the tournament.
The initiative has been endorsed by 18 other embassies and high commissions including those of the US, Norway, New Zealand, Malaysia, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Jordan, Morocco, among others, the ambassadors told media here.
Serbian Ambassador Vladimir Maric explained the reason for tennis being chosen for the charity saying, "Tennis is a sport which is quite popular in the countries we come from. Speaking for myself, Serbia is the nation of tennis and the present number one player Novak Djokovic belongs to our country."

Terming the initiative as part of "cultural diplomacy" Guatemala ambassador Georges de La Roche Du Ronzet hoped a "nice figure" of donations would be raised through it and used for construction of toilets in rural areas.