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Encourages changes in practice and understanding attitudes, with practical ideas to encourage hand washing, to keep food safe, to provide safe drinking water and maintain good health. It also includes advice on improving water supplies and building different types of latrines.
To download a pdf version of the book, click here (883K). To view the pages of the book in html format, follow the links below.
This Guide helps communities to consider improving their lifestyle to reduce disease and infection. Promoting effective and low-cost sanitation, encouraging good hygiene and improving access to clean water supplies helps people to live healthier live... More >> |
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chlorine bleach a strong chemical that can be used to make water safe for drinking.
cholera a serious disease causing severe diarrhoea with vomiting caused by food and water that is made dirty with faeces. Unless treated it can cause rapid dehydra... More >> |
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Good health is a great blessing. None of us enjoy feeling unwell. We have all had times of feeling unwell. Sometimes this is because we catch an infectious disease such as flu, TB or measles. Sometimes we get malaria after a mosquito bite. However, t... More >> |
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Conditions in the area where we live will have a large impact on our health. Here is a useful exercise to consider the situation in our local area together.
Divide into two groups. Each group should make a map showing the community and local area. A... More >> |
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All of us are influenced by our situations and our culture. Our beliefs about hygiene and how illness is spread depend very much on what we learn as we grow up. However, our beliefs can change as we learn new information.
This drawing is a useful w... More >> |
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In this Guide we will learn many useful messages that we can share with people to help them to live healthier lives. It is very helpful to first find out as much as possible about what people normally do, to make sure our messages are appropriate.
... More >> |
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Most of the time when we look at our hands, they seem clean. However, they can look clean but still be covered by many thousands of tiny microbes. Touching faeces, either from cleaning ourselves after defecating, or cleaning up a young child or baby,... More >> |
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It is helpful to make washing hands regularly as quick and easy as possible. If water is limited, there are ways of washing hands that use very little water. Used water from hand washing can be collected and used for washing floors, latrines or for w... More >> |
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It can be hard to encourage people to wash their hands if they don’t see the need. If we know what people believe about washing hands, we can share more useful messages.
One way of doing this is to carry out a simple survey, for example, in a schoo... More >> |
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We have already learned about the importance of keeping our hands clean. The rest of our body also needs to stay clean. Every day we should wash our face and body well with soap and water. This is particularly important for babies and young children.... More >> |
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When people get diarrhoea, they can lose a lot of water and salts from their body very quickly. Babies and young children suffer most. In many cultures, people believe that diarrhoea washes out sickness and that you should not give food or water unti... More >> |
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During the first six months of a child’s life, breast milk alone is the ideal food. It contains all the nutrients and water needed for healthy growth. It also provides good protection against many common infections.
Baby milk manufacturers try to pe... More >> |
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Menstruation is a natural event for all women of reproductive age. For most women it occurs once a month. Each month the womb develops a special lining that can protect and feed a fertilised egg as it develops into a baby. If a woman is not pregnant,... More >> |
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The microbes that cause diarrhoea and other diseases can be spread through food as well as water. Most people already have good ways of handling food. Fresh, well-cooked and covered food is free from microbes and safe to eat.
However, food can coll... More >> |
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Good hygiene in handling food is very important. However, it is also important to make sure that the dishes and utensils used for serving food are clean. If dishes and utensils are washed in dirty, greasy water they will be covered with many microbes... More >> |
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Flies are never wanted! They are always a problem. When people realise the role they have in spreading diarrhoea and disease, they are even less welcome. Getting rid of flies is almost impossible. However, there are a number of ways to reduce their n... More >> |
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Many households have animals living either in or around the home. These may include dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, sheep and goats. Sometimes they spend the night in a room next to the sleeping areas. They are part of everyday life. However, all animal... More >> |
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All households produce some waste. This may include food waste, paper, plastics, tins, batteries and broken tools and equipment. Paper can be recycled or used for lighting fires. Old cans or cut-up plastic bottles can be used for growing tree seedlin... More >> |
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Obtaining safe drinking water is a struggle for many people. The microbes that spread diarrhoea are often found in dirty water. Water becomes dirty in many ways. It may contain faeces and urine, soap from washing or chemicals from industry. Dirty wat... More >> |
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Household water supplies are a problem for many people. In urban areas people may need to pay a lot for water. People in rural areas may have to walk long distances to collect water.
Keeping water in clay pots will help keep water cool and fresh fo... More >> |
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There are many different sources of water that can be improved and managed. Safe and accessible water supplies make a huge difference to people’s health and their quality of life. Building rainwater tanks, capping springs and digging wells can all be... More >> |
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Scoop holes can provide safer water if their sides are built up with shallow walls of stone, brick or concrete and the top is covered. Removing the base from a cooking pot with lid can also make a cheap and effective cover. Springs can be dug out and... More >> |
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Most people can probably think of wells in their area that were built, worked well for several years and then were no longer used when the pump broke. Often, wells and water pumps are provided by outside agencies. There may be ceremonies to celebrate... More >> |
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If people do not have access to latrines, then burying faeces in the ground is a simple step that will improve hygiene. It will reduce people’s risk of contact with faeces.
Building and using latrines is a really important way of reducing the risk ... More >> |
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Latrines need to be built near the house but at least 20 metres from any water source. The walls can be built of mud, brick, matting or corrugated iron. The roof can be made of grass or tin sheets. If the soil is rocky and hard to dig or the water le... More >> |
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Young children are often afraid to use a latrine. They may be unable to open the door, afraid of the dark or the pit. However, even young children should learn the importance of using either a potty that can be emptied into the latrine or a child’s l... More >> |
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Latrines take a long time to plan and build well. Sometimes there may be situations when there is no time to build proper latrines, such as after disasters. Set aside an area of land to use as a public latrine and make sure everyone uses this. Dig tw... More >> |
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People are more likely to respond to positive messages that respect their reasons for doing things, rather than to warnings about dirt. Share messages about gaining respect, having healthy children, a clean environment and taking pride in, for exampl... More >> |
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After a time of sharing the messages learned from this Guide with people in the community, it is good to assess their impact. We need to know whether sharing new information has resulted in people changing their practices. We need to know if people a... More >> |
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These Bible studies are designed to use in small groups. They may provide a useful introduction to a meeting where different topics from the Guide are being discussed. Choose a study that will be linked to the topic you plan to study or that is relev... More >> |
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Sanitation and cleanliness for a healthy environment (2005) by J Conant. Hesperian Foundation and UNDP
Encouraging change: Sustainable steps in water supply, sanitation and hygiene (2003) by S Sutton and H Nkoloma. Zambian Board of Health and DFID ... More >> |
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