Question

Cleanliness and maintenance of ponds

Answer 1

Keeping clean and disposing of human waste (feces and urine) are necessary for good health.If they are not taken care of in a safe way, our feces and urine can pollute the environmentand cause serious health problems, such as diarrhea, worms, cholera, and bladder infections.Many of these problems can be prevented through:• personal cleanliness (hygiene) — washing hands, bathing, and wearing clean clothes.• public cleanliness (sanitation) — using clean and safe toilets, keeping water sourcesclean, and disposing of garbage safely.This chapter has information aboutboth personal and public cleanlinessincluding instructions on how tobuild safe toilets. All of the toiletsdescribed in this chapter will disposeof human waste so it does not causehealth problems. Some of the toiletshave the added benefit of turning thiswaste into fertilizer for farmers to usein their fields. This is called ecologicalsanitation.When people handle animal wasteto make fertilizer, care must be takenor it can cause sickness. Human fecesand urine can also fertilize the soil.But like animal waste, human wastecarries harmful germs and must bemanaged carefully.Sanitationand Cleanlinessfor a Healthy EnvironmentCropsbecome foodFood becomeshuman wasteFertilizerfeeds the soilThe soil growscropsEcological sanitation turnswaste into a resource.Human waste can beturned into fertilizer4 Sanitation and Cleanliness for a Healthy EnvironmentMany diseases are spread from person to person by germs in feces. Some expertsbelieve health problems from poor sanitation can be prevented only if people changetheir personal habits, or “behaviors,” about staying clean. But this idea often leads tofailure because it does not consider the barriers that people face in their daily lives,such as poverty or lack of access to clean water. Then when behavior does not change,people are blamed for their own poor health.Promoting sanitationOther experts look for technical solutions, such as modern toilets that flush water.Technical solutions often come from outside a community and may not fit thetraditions or conditions of the community. Sometimes they create more problems thanthey solve!The diseases caused by germs from poor hygiene and sanitation will not beprevented if people are blamed for their own poor health, or if only technical solutionsare promoted. To improve health in a lasting way, health promoters must listencarefully and work together with people in the community.When communities use hygiene and sanitation methods that fit their real needs and