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Basic Sanitation and the Empowerment of Minorities

Look around. Have you ever thought about how basic sanitation interferes in your life? Whether in its presence or absence, its impact is certainly relevant. It may not seem like it, but access to piped water and sewage treatment is an important social tool, indispensable in the empowerment of minorities.

Why is sanitation important?

Basic sanitation involves a series of essential services for the population. These include water supply and sewage treatment. Without these services, we don't have running water for cooking, washing and bathing – or for flushing and saying goodbye to waste. Water supply and sewage collection are fundamental for our health and life in society, because, in addition to preventing a series of diseases, they bring comfort and quality of life. It is not common to reflect on this, but in a country where not everyone has access to basic sanitation, having these services at home is a privilege.

Sanitation as a social empowerment tool

In order to have access to piped water, it needs to go through a whole process of treatment to arrive clean at our house and then be returned to nature without polluting rivers and springs. Now imagine that basic sanitation is part of an even bigger cycle and that at the end of it we all benefit.

In places where there is no sanitation, the quality of life is lower than in regions where this service exists.
This is because those who do not have access to water supply need to get it elsewhere, often far from home. This water is not always clean enough for consumption, which can cause illness. In addition, open sewage is also a great proliferator of diseases. With the sick population, school dropout and truancy increases, not to mention unemployment. As a result, access to work and higher incomes also decreases. Have you ever stopped to think that this whole cycle can start with the lack of basic sanitation?

With access to treated water and adequate sewage collection, diseases decrease. Consequently, the population's level of education increases, as well as better employment opportunities and an increase in income. As a result, purchasing power also grows, resulting in more comfort and access to culture.

Basic sanitation is an essential and very important service in the empowerment of minorities. Now that you already know that, how about doing your part by contributing to the proper functioning of this cycle of good? Cars can be cleaned with the help of a bucket and a damp cloth. To rinse, an alternative is to use a watering can.