- The story takes place in a village in India. The main people are two women of the untouchable caste.
- Huts the people live in are made up of mud and dung.
- “…wastewater runs in open rivulets. Piles of cow dung swarm with flies. Children have frequent diarrhea, vomiting, and fevers.”
- One woman doing rounds since 1984; when she started pregnant women died while and after delivering their babies; poor sanitation led to diarrheal disease
- More doctors are not needed for majority of the health problem
- 80% village health problems related to
- Nutrition
- Environment
- Infant mortality
- Chronic starvation
- Diarrhea
- Respiratory infections
- Solution
- Safe drinking water
- Education
- Poverty alleviation
- Money was found to put wells in villages; a diviner’s job was to only find water where the untouchables lived. Water became more important than caste and the higher caste women would come to get water from where the untouchables lived.
Why this topic matters to me:
My major is Home and Family Living with a minor in Gerontology. As I sit in these classes and learn how to better help those around me by setting a time apart for family during mealtimes and being financially able to care for physical needs, I am amazed when I find out that some mothers, who also want the best for their children, lack the very basics of being able to provide clean water for their children and they end up losing their child to something that could be so easily prevented.
How it relates to biology:
- Causes of dirrahea:
- Virus which infects the gut
- Ongoing diarrhea causes the body to lose nutrients and water
- Can lead to dehydration
- Can reduce amount of diarrhea by having clean drinking wate
Facilitate a way for villages in India to have access to areas to clean their drinking water and educate about the benefits of using clean drinking water. The first will remove the pathogens from the water which result in diarrhea and the second will lead the people of India to making better informed decisions.
From two peer reviewed articles:
- according to the WHO, roughly 4 million children under the age of five die each year from diarrhea.
- "Estimates indicate that one-fifth of the population of rural India do not have access to safe drinking water."
- Although having water piped into the home reduces how long a chlild is sick with dirrahea, the biggest change comes from when an illiterate mother has water piped into the house; this suggests compensation for illiteracy.
- Diarrhea associated with "heat, spicy food, ingesting hair, mud or mosquitoes."
- "Approximately 88% of diarrhoeal diseases are attributed to unsafe water supply, and inadequate sanitation and hygiene."
- Water was only treated during bouts of illness
- Water scooped out of water container with a cup held in the hands; mainly children under the age of 15 practiced washing hands due to it being part of their education at school.
- "Perceived lack of association between safe water and diarrhoeal disease."
- Boiling water is time consuming and expensive; exploration could find a better alternative.
Banda, K., Sarkar, R., Gopal, S., Govindarajan, J., Harijan, B.B., Jeyakumar, M.B., … Balraj, V. Water handling, sanitation and defecation practices in rural southern India; a knowledge, attitudes and practices study. (November 2007). Transaction of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 101(11), 1124-1130.
The Basics of Diarrhea. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/digestive-diseases-diarrhea
Jalan, J. & Ravallion, M. (January 2003). Does piped water reduce diarrhea for children in rural India? (January 2003). Journal of Econometrics,112(1).
Rosenberg, Tina. (December 2008). Necessary Angels. National Geographic, 214(6). Retrieved from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/12/community-doctors/rosenberg-text
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