Tippytap

Every day in India almost a thousand children die from diarrhea. The sad part about this statistic is that nearly all of these diseases could have been prevented by one thing: soap. HELP International is hoping to reduce the number of these deaths by building the Tippytap in the slums. The Tippytap is a revolutionary, simple idea that promotes hand washing in rural communities. The best part about this product is that anyone can make it because it is made of sticks, string, a plastic container, a nail, and a match. If you would like to learn more, please watch the video posted below. This is public health!

Soilets

One of the projects the HELP International India team is extremely excited about is the soilet project. Currently in India more people have access to a cell phone than they do a toilet. As a result, you have houses in slums or rural villages that have cell phone towers or satellite dishes but no toilet. As a result, many women, men, and children use the streets as their own personal toilet (See video posted below). If you need more proof, I will happily post pictures of people urinating on the street. No, I am not actively looking to take pictures of people urinating, they are photo bombing my photos.

As you can imagine, the open defecation and urination have made traveling and running through the city a complete pleasure. However, one does get use to the smell…eventually. Luckily, HELP International has a solution to this problem, which is the soilet!

According to Sean (the team lead), a soilet is a toilet system that eliminates disease-causing waste disposal. These innovative toilet systems separate solid from liquid waste, composting the two elements into clean and nutrient enriched dirt. These systems—appropriately named “Soilets”—will significantly improve the poor sanitation conditions that contaminate the water supply. The possibility for these toilets is endless! They can significantly reduce the exposure of children to diarrheal diseases, and therefore reduce the number of preventable deaths. This project is what public health is all about, which is prevention of illnesses. HELP International India is hoping to start building the first soilet in a few days. The location will be posted later, but I can tell you that the locals are ecstatic!

Well, I promise to post soon. Namaste.