Poo

Travelling through India makes you appreciate a working septic system. Not because I am overly fussy on having a clean western loo to use but because when you're living in a first world country you can often forget just how big of a problem waste control really is. There are 1.7 billion people in India and everyone of them will poo everyday. That’s a LOT of shit. And when you’re living in poverty in a crowded city, privacy is a luxury many cannot afford.  In fact, if I had a dollar for every time I saw someone shtting by the side of the road I could pay for this entire trip.

The old saying "don’t shit where you eat" can apply to many situations, but when taken literally it is a golden rule. It also applies to where you drink and wash, but unfortunately this is also a luxury for many. I’m not sure if it is a lack of education or a lack of other options, but people will often go down to the waters edge to do their daily business, the same river or pond where they will bathe. The same river that seeps into the groundwater that feeds the well where they collect their drinking water.

In cities it is much worse. The combination of  crowded streets and open drains that doubles as a sewerage system creates a pungent aroma that attracts pigs, chickens, cows, dogs and goats, most of which eat the faeces, some of which end up on dinner plates. That which isn’t eaten is left to be stood in or flushed into the local river to be bathed in. It’s not hard to see how disease is rife. A proper system for waste disposal is not only wonderful to live with, it makes the biggest difference to the health of the population than any other development.

As a side note: Walk away from all water sources and bury it please...

I have subsequently developed a deeper appreciation for three things: proper waste control, my education that allows me to determine what not to eat/drink and antiseptic hand gel. So for all of you living in a first world country, make sure to hug your toilet on the 19th for world toilet day. 
http://toiletday.org/?s=waterforpeople