Musa will not drink from that stream again

Abstract

WATER AND HEALTH I n Durban Musa has access to clean, piped water. At his rural home, domestic water is obtained from a stream, which is supplied by a spring. This stream runs through Musa’s homestead, and at places the water is stagnant. Sometimes the water is yellowish green, with frogs, but this is the water that his mother and rest of the community collect for domestic consumption. Until recently people used the bushes when they needed to defecate. Musa had been helping to build a fence, and used to drink water straight from the stream whenever he felt thirsty, which is what everyone does in that area. In addition, Musa is a soccer player, and whenever he came home after playing, he would drink plenty of water from the stream. His mother, sister and two brothers did not get ill because they did not drink as much as he did – also in Durban he was used to drinking water that was safe. His family was very worried and confused when he became ill, and they gave him plenty of water to drink, but it was water from the same stream. Soon Musa began to lose his appetite.

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