|
Sanitation Facts
Secret for success? After every use, 2 handfuls of compost are added
to the pit. Each stall will have wiping material and organic compost material.
After one year of use, the toilet stalls and floors are moved to the other
half of the trench. The filled pits are covered and left to compost for
one year. When the toilets need to be moved back the next year,
the compost is germ-free and ready for agricultural use. Urinals drain
to a tank for use in agriculture and is germ-free in 3 months.
Smell? The pit has a tight lid (removed and replaced by one's foot) so
smells are minimized. Flies can't get out and are attracted by the light
and air flow to the vent which is screened.
Agricultural use? With the encouragement of Project Ethiopia member,
Awoke, the urine and compost will be used by the local farmers to boost
crop growth.
Ask anyone what it will take to make women’s equality a reality and
“toilets” will probably not be the response.
Yet it is difficult to exaggerate the impact that access to private, safe
and sanitary toilets would have on the daily lives and long-term prospects
of the 1.3 billion women and girls worldwide that are currently doing without.
The burdens of water-hauling are widely understood: this tedious,
time-consuming and physically debilitating
chore reduces the time available for productive activities and, for girls,
to attend school. Less discussed are the blows to health, productivity
and dignity that result from poor sanitation.
In some settings where basic sanitation is lacking, women and girls have
to rise before dawn, making their way in the darkness to fields to defecate
in the open, knowing they may risk rape or other violence in the process.
In such circumstances, women and girls often go the whole day without
relieving themselves until night affords them the privacy of darkness.
Sometimes, they limit their daytime intake of food and water so that they
can make it until evening.
For many girls, the onset of adolescence means the end of school.
All who lack adequate sanitation facilities are exposed to unpleasant
and unhealthy daily routines. However, the impact on women and girls is
greatest. In their household roles, they may more readily transmit
disease-causing pathogens from exposed faeces to other family members.
And restricted toilet opportunities cause discomfort and increase the
likelihood of health problems such as urinary tract infections and chronic
constipation as well as causing unnecessary mental stress.
How can the future be better if today's girls must drop out of school
for want of something as basic as a toilet?
ADVANCING GENDER EQUALITY WITH TOILETS AND TAPS
Safe water = ability to wash face and hands = significant reduction in trachoma (eye)
Reasonable access to safe water means girls can go to school instead of using time and energy to get water for the family.
Substantial economic gains occur with increased access to water according to a cost-benefit analysis by WHO.
CLEAN WATER IS ESSENTIAL FOR HEALTH
Project Ethiopia c/o Interfaith Community Church 1763 NW 62nd Street, Seattle, WA 98107
Project Ethiopia has 501(c)(3) status so US donations are tax deductible.
|
Sanitation
