48 Health Problems from Unsafe Water
Understanding why Timothy died
The “But why…?” activity (see pages 7 and 12) can help to understand the
different causes of Timothy’s illness and death.
What caused Timothy’s death? Diarrhea and dehydration.
But why did he have diarrhea? There were germs in the water.
But why were there germs in the water? It was an unprotected water hole
contaminated with germs and worms.
But why did Timothy drink from an unprotected water hole?
The village pump was broken.
But why couldn’t it be repaired?
Continue the “chain” until you run
out of questions. You can also return
to an earlier link and ask for more
underlying causes. For example:
Pump
broken
Animal
waste
in
water
No wood to
boil water
But why didn’t Njoki make the water safe to drink? There was
little firewood to boil the water and no money to disinfect it
with chlorine.
The “But why…?” questions continue as people come up with
reasons for Timothy’s death. A chain of causes drawn on paper
or on a chalkboard, or made of cardboard or flannel, can show
how each cause is connected to the other causes. For each
reason given, a link is added to the chain. In this way, people
can understand the different causes of illness, and how these
causes can be prevented.
Timothy
gets
diarrhea
No
rehydration
drink
No
money for
doctor
Timothy
dies
A simple story about how germs travel
1. A man has
diarrhea
outside.
2. A dog eats
the man’s
feces.
3. A child plays with
the dog and gets
feces on his hands.
4. The child starts to cry and
his mother comforts him. He
wipes his hands on her skirt.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012