India’s 70% population lives in small villages and agriculture is the only means they earn the bread and butter of their lives. I am writing this to throw some light over a problem which has been under cover since a long time and that is open defecation. People living in urban areas and earning well enough to afford a proper toilet are not even aware of the existence of this problem but the rural population faces this day in and out.
Open defecation is not only something which is obscene and makes the place look bad but it is a mine of diseases and various other health problems. People living in villages are used to of this process and they hardly find anything wrong in it, when I asked few people on the railway track as to why don’t they switch to proper toilets they said they have been openly defecating since ages and nothing has happened to them yet. Another point which came up during the discussion was that they don’t have enough funds to even afford a toilet. Just because nothing has happened to them yet they are ignorant of the fact that it is the main cause of major life threatening diseases.
Open defecation leads to many communicable diseases and makes the environment unhealthy. Open defecation is identified as the main reason behind the majority of water born diseases which primarily includes diarrhoea. The main targets are kids and women. Every year more than 3,00,000 children are reported to be dead because of these water born diseases. Kids are the future of our country and we need to do everything to safeguard it.
I as an individual might not be able to visit every single village out there and provide them a fully functional toilet but I can at least take part in the initiative by domex. For more details about this initiative visit Domex. It is very important rural population understand how serious this problem is and how much damage can it cause to them and their next generation. It is less about money but more about awareness. Just because they don’t know about the dire consequences, they don’t prioritize the construction of toilets. Ignorance should not be bliss for them anymore. I am sure if they are aware of this serious problem they would say “No” to open defecation.
I hereby urge all the people out there to spare some time out of their busy schedule and at least educate about the issue and its consequences to one person daily. I am sure the message will reach out to a larger audience and necessary steps will be taken to curb open defecation. I cannot construct toilets for them but at least I can associate myself with movements working towards it and aim for a no open defecation future.
Every single individual has a power, power of word and power of expression. I hereby again urge you all to be a part of this change. You can bring about the change in the lives of millions of kids, thereby showing your support for the Domex Initiative. All you need to do is “click” on the “Contribute Tab” on www.domex.in and Domex will contribute Rs.5 on your behalf to eradicate open defecation, thereby helping kids like Babli live a dignified life.
This post was written as a part of Toilet for Babli for Indiblogger, a healthy initiative by Domex.
Good initiative by Domex. Yes, even I have heard people from rural areas (only males) reply very casually when asked about open defecation. This initiative will also lead an educational moment – to let people aware of serious health issues because of this problem.
I strongly recommend it you. Do take part and spread the word.