Indoor Plumbing and Public Sanitation in Developing Countries Essay

The porcelain throne, the pot, the pooper, the potty, the latrine, the earth-closet. That is something we tiret bring in much thought to, unless something is wrong with it. What about the shower stall or the sink? How often to do you go to your sink to tug a glass of pee and wonder Am I discombobulate someones poo? Will it be nibble today or will I call for sick? I know for myself, I rarely give this any thought at all and I can honestly say that I drive home never unhinged that my drinking piddle would be contaminated by feces. However, for many nearly the human race, this is a constant concern.Many today either put one overt bugger off approach shot to jolly water or dont cod approach shot to rattling much water at all. They openly defecate, as well as drink, cook, and bathe in contaminated water. This causes some(prenominal) life threatening diseases and illnesses. I will discuss the water and sanitation issues in under developed countries, as well as wh at is being done to improve these situations. Early one December morning in Boise Idaho, I woke up to an especially cold day. I wearily scuffled myself to my bathroom, went pee and when I went to flush my toilet, nothing happened.Still slightly hypnoid and confused, I tried a check more times to conk it to flush. Still nothing happened. Frustrated, I opened my tank and found that in that location was no water in it at all. I thought that that was strange, so I checked my faucet. I turned the handle and no water came out, I quickly checked my shower and kitchen sink next. I had no water at all. Realizing that I had to work in a hardly a(prenominal) hours and I had no way to shower, brush my teeth or clean up in any way, I became instead irate. I called my heed company and apparently pipes had frozen in most of their properties.After this discover I started look ating about my reaction and how there are countries that dont have access to clean water ever. though I think tha t the reaction that I had would have been the same for any person living in the U. S. , I dont know if it was as deep of a deal as it felt like in the moment. I didnt divulge from not having water for one day, I wasnt compel to defecate in my front lawn or drink from a sewer. I didnt get sick and I didnt even have to go the entire day without a shower. In fact, I didnt have to go even a couple of hours without access to water.We, in America, are so used to having constant access to clean water and indoor plumbing that if we have to go an hour without it, its as though our entire world is crashing down. We rarely give thought to those in underdeveloped countries that lack access to clean water at all. There are approximately 7 billion large number living on earth today. There are about 2. 6 billion spate today that dont have a toilet or access to one (Yamaguchi). That is about 40% of the worlds population That is a huge number of hoi polloi without toilets. present in America , there is not a single home that does not have a toilet.Even the homeless have constant access to restroom facilities and clean water. I had a conversation with a comrade of mine that works with the homeless on a daily foot to see what the situation was like for the homeless in America in regards to restroom access and sanitation. I asked him if any of the homeless people that he worked with were ever forced to openly defecate or go without a shower. He informed that the notwithstanding ones that did that were never forced to, notwithstanding they did it by choice. He also told me that many that are homeless are on Medicaid, so if they get sick they can just go to the doctor.This is quite different from ontogeny countries, where people die all the time from not being able to afford medical care. Developing countries not exactly lack affordable medical care but they have very limited ability to prevent the spread of illness, such as those caused by exposure to faecal point ( Yamaguchi). However, in America we have sewage systems and names that filter and treat our sewer water. In Los Angeles there is the Hyperion sewage plant that processes enough fecal matter to fill three Rose curl Stadiums every day (Yamaguchi).That is just in Los Angeles, what about the rest of the U.S.? It is judgement boggling to think about how much is processed. Now lets attend to at India, a country that has significantly grown economically, however is nonoperational severely lacking proper sanitation systems. According to UNICEF, about 600 billion people in India are without access to a toilet ( realism Toilet Day 2012). That is more than half the population of India. Instead of development a toilet, they openly defecate wherever they can. Many use the Yamuna River (Yamaguchi), the largest river in the Ganges of Northern India. The result has been a severely contaminated water source.The river has literally turned black and bubbles from the methane gases. The shores ar e not only pollute with fecal matter but trash as well and til now still the people are employ the water from the river (Yamaguchi). I think many Americans reaction to this would be Gross or we might generalize and think that Indians are just unsanitary people. Is that genuinely the case, though? The people living in underdeveloped countries are rarely living in unsanitary conditions by choice. Many are unknowing to proper sanitation practices and/or are living in conditions where they have no access to clean water.In the urban slums of New Delhi, people are defecating anywhere they can in the middle of the streets, next to aim road tracks, or just feet from where they eat, drink and sleep. The water they are using to cook, drink, and bathe with is water from a sewer (Yamaguchi). About 1000 children die every day from diarrhea (Bajait, Thawani). This lack of proper sanitation systems is exposing these children and adults to fecal matter on a daily basis, which is causing disea ses like Typhoid, epidemic cholera and other severe illnesses linked with diarrhea. Is this the geological fault of the individual or the fault of their administrations?In my opinion, both are at fault. Though developing countries have very little access to informational services, I do retrieve that it go in the hands of the individual to get informed and I believe that it is the responsibility of the government to succeed the services required to inform its people on proper sanitation, as well as provide a clean environment to live in via sanitation systems. This lack of toilets, which results in a lack of clean water, is obviously a very big problem. So what is being done about it? In 2001 Jack Sim founded the origination Toilet Organization.This organization is dedicated to improving the worlds toilet and sanitation situation. They make toilets that are affordable for those living in needy conditions. Jack Sim also works with governments of developing countries and small organizations to help provide toilets to those in need. One of those small organizations is run by Bapak Sumadi in Indonesia. Sumadi is a major leader in Indonesia in providing the public with toilets and teaching the enormousness of public sanitation. Together their goal is to end open defecation (Yamaguchi). Though the changes and effects are small, they are not insignificant.The conditions that these people are forced to live in, is truly a crisis. Thousands die every day from not having proper sanitation systems. The invention of the toilet and sewage systems has not only given us a way to get rid of our feces, but it has provided us with sanitary conditions which keeps our water clean and reduces the chances of contracting diseases. No matter who you are or where you live, everyone deserves to have access to a toilet and clean water. The question now is what more can be done? Should the government help provide better access to toilets and sanitation systems? What about other c ountries?Do we hold any responsibility in helping these developing countries? In my opinion, yes we do. One scholarly journal, in reference to David Hemson, stated well-ordered water supply to the rural poor is both a constitutional requirement and a social necessity (Phaswana-Mafuya 298). I think it is irresponsible that we learn to help one another, so that we can grow unitedly rather than grow apart. I know the next time that I use the restroom, take a bath, or even just get a glass of water I will be congenial for all that I have and that I dont have to worry about what I am drinking or dishwashing in. What about you?