While Compone residents felt that water sanitation is important, the community president and others insisted that the water was already clean. The president described Compone's water as potable when, in fact, recent water tests showed levels of coliform well above recommended limits in all samples. In addition to the discrepancy between beliefs about water quality and actual measures, community members were more strongly concerned with water issues like flow rate, quantity, fairness in distribution, and conservation than with water quality.
Community members recognized that water often causes diarrhea, but the mechanisms through which water becomes contaminated were not well understood. Simple prevention strategies, moreover, were not often practiced. We were ourselves seldom able to access running water, soap, and a dry towel and never observed others washing hands. Outhouses are the norm in Compone homes.
Pigs, cows, sheep, water fowl, and dogs are everywhere in the community, their excrement scattered like little poop mines on the roads and paths and within living compounds. Little delineation between indoor and outdoor spaces cements the ubiquity of animal excreta, a new addition to my tiny Spanish vocabulary that I will never forget. When people do get sick, they told us the problem is easily solved by going to the nearby health clinic for medicine. The time and financial burdens of seeking treatment are so low, prevention is a low priority.
Although we had already planned to talk with households about water quality, these insights helped the PHWB team rethink our health education activities. Graciela and Greg facilitated four workshops with nearly 100 adults about water sanitation, preventing water-borne disease, and preparing oral rehydration therapy (ORT) or "homemade Gatorade," as it was known to the engineers. After demonstrating the simple ORT preparation, we distributed ORT recipes and liter containers to participants.
Community members recognized that water often causes diarrhea, but the mechanisms through which water becomes contaminated were not well understood. Simple prevention strategies, moreover, were not often practiced. We were ourselves seldom able to access running water, soap, and a dry towel and never observed others washing hands. Outhouses are the norm in Compone homes.
Pigs, cows, sheep, water fowl, and dogs are everywhere in the community, their excrement scattered like little poop mines on the roads and paths and within living compounds. Little delineation between indoor and outdoor spaces cements the ubiquity of animal excreta, a new addition to my tiny Spanish vocabulary that I will never forget. When people do get sick, they told us the problem is easily solved by going to the nearby health clinic for medicine. The time and financial burdens of seeking treatment are so low, prevention is a low priority.
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| That paragraph seemed like a good excuse to post some of my animal pics. |
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| Improving skills for a plan B career in shepherding. |
Although we had already planned to talk with households about water quality, these insights helped the PHWB team rethink our health education activities. Graciela and Greg facilitated four workshops with nearly 100 adults about water sanitation, preventing water-borne disease, and preparing oral rehydration therapy (ORT) or "homemade Gatorade," as it was known to the engineers. After demonstrating the simple ORT preparation, we distributed ORT recipes and liter containers to participants.
