I have had the joy and the privilege of climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, twice. If you have climbed Kili, you will know that it is a life changing experience, for many reasons....one of which is the toilets! They are hideous. Overused, shallow, stinking, totally unhygienic. That's the good ones. All around the camps and rest stops, small mounds of faeces and toilet paper show the evidence of the many people who could not stand to use the toilets-how can blame them?
Whilst this is something that shocks climbers from developed countries, for whom sanitation is taken for granted, this situation is an everyday reality for millions of Africans who don't have any access to safe drinking water or sanitation. Disease and death are the obvious outcomes.
So, here are my thoughts on the matter....I believe that it is possible to build biogas digestion tiolets in the first overnight camps on Kili to serve climbers and to highlight the plight of Africans who don't get to enjoy this basic human right. With 25 000 climbers, mostly from more affluent countries, climbing Kili every year, this would be a powerful way to communcate this challenge and to get more support to address this challenge. What do you think?
Friday, July 10, 2009
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