Footsteps 9

SANITATION

Sanitation – not a subject any of us enjoy talking about! Because of this, it is easy to ignore the problems that poor hygiene and sanitation bring. We prefer to look at other ways of improving health which are easier to talk about. But lack of good sanitation is a huge health problem. The whole community suffers - all of us reading this have suffered from some of the unpleasant illnesses caused by poor sanitation. Does our love for our neighbours (Matthew 22:39) include improving poor sanitation around our homes?

Please find below articles from Footsteps issue 9.

Anastausia's knotty problem by Dr Steve Brown. I would like to open the discussion about the knotty problem of women like Anastausia who are given oxytocics, either by village healers, in the form of roots (‘Knotty Problems’ in Footsteps No.7) or, as I have seen in Bangladesh,... More >>

Bible study There is virtually no teaching in the Bible directly concerning sanitation except that found in Deuteronomy 23:12-13. These verses in the NIV Bible read: ‘Designate a place outside the camp where you can go and relieve yourself. As part of your equi... More >>

Building a pit latrine Digging As you dig, throw the soil well away from the hole, so that it doesn’t fall back in the pit. First dig a trench for a foundation for your latrine slab. This need only be two or three courses of brick deep (or one concrete block). Build t... More >>

Disease and sanitation Action in low-income communities by Professor John Pickford of the Water, Engineering and Development Centre at Loughborough University of Technology. It is often said that much of the disease in low-income countries is caused by bad water. Water-... More >>

Editorial Sanitation – not a subject any of us enjoy talking about! Because of this, it is easy to ignore the problems that poor hygiene and sanitation bring. We prefer to look at other ways of improving health which are easier to talk about. But lack of good ... More >>

Effective sanitation projects by Isobel Blackett. What makes a low-cost sanitation programme successful? Are a lot of latrines in the project area enough evidence to prove that success has been achieved? Does it matter if the latrines are always used? Does everyone use th... More >>

Letters Neem in the treatment of scabies I was very interested in the article on the use of the Neem tree in a recent issue of Footsteps and would like to share with you how this tree is used in Bangladesh as a natural health aid. For the treatment of scab... More >>

Low cost sanitation work in Lesotho by Isobel Blackett. In 1981 the Government of Lesotho made a commitment to improve the water and sanitation if the country. An initial Urban Sanitation Project was started. By 1983 this project, known as the Urban Sanitation Improvement Team (USIT),... More >>

New ideas in the control of mosquitoes Compiled from material from DCFRN and Dr Chris Curtis. Mosquitoes carry diseases from one person to another. They are also a great nuisance. Some varieties carry malaria (Anopheles species), others dengue fever (Aedes aegypti) and others diseases kn... More >>

Planning a pit latrine Compiled by Richard Franceys and Isabel Carter. When the decision to build a pit latrine is made, then there are many things to consider… The type of latrine This depends on how much money is available and whether people use water or solid mater... More >>

Resources Small Scale Sanitation By R Feachem and A M Cairncross, Ross Institute (54 pages) A small booklet which is a very useful introduction to a wide variety of sanitation techniques, with many details about small-scale systems including pit latrines. Ru... More >>

Striga (Witchweed) a serious problem for farmers… Compiled from material by Dr Imuetinyan Igbinnosa and John Wibberley. No farmer anywhere is without the problem of weeds. They will grow with every crop planted. They are reminders of a fallen world (Genesis 3:17-19). Every farmer struggles to overc... More >>

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