Notes to broadcasters
Young people are frequently under severe physical stress when they are involved in agricultural labour. Young women carry heavy loads of water and wood for long distances. They are exposed to poisonous fumes from cooking stoves in their homes. Young men and young women are both exposed to toxic pesticides used to grow crops. These dangers can lead to various physical problems, including pain, disability, reproductive problems, and respiratory disease. In this script, we discuss two of these issues and talk about ways in which young people can stay safe.
Script
Characters
Program host
Priti:
A young woman of about 18
Rithu:
Priti’s aunt
Raju
: A 15-year-old boy (the son of Rithu’s neighbour)
SOUNDS OF MARKET.
SOUNDS FADE OUT UNDER PROGRAM HOST.
Program host:
It’s early morning in the dry season in the Indian market village of Dhaniapur. A bus rolls into the dusty main street, stops, and about twenty women get off, carrying water pots, vegetables and crafts to sell at the market. Among them is Rithu, a 40-year-old woman, who walks with a limp. She sets off on a short walk to the health clinic on the edge of the market. Outside the clinic, she meets Priti, her sister’s daughter, a girl of about 18. Let’s listen to their conversation.
Priti:
Hello, Auntie. I’m so glad you’re here. I was hoping to see you.
Rithu
: Hello, Priti. How are you? (In a worried tone) Are you still having problems with your pregnancy?
Priti:
Oh, Auntie, I had another miscarriage. And my husband and his family are very angry with me.
Rithu:
Are you okay? Have you seen the doctor at the clinic?
Priti:
Yes. But … (crying) I can’t do what the doctor is telling me to do.
Rithu:
Slow down, my dear. What do you mean?
Priti:
Well, you know I’ve been having back pains for years now, and I haven’t been able to sleep well. The doctor says that I have to stop carrying heavy loads of water. She says that lifting heavy things is causing my back pain, and might be causing the miscarriages. But I can’t stop working. There’s nobody else to get the water. What am I going to do?
Rithu:
Priti, first let me tell you that many, many women face this problem. I know you can’t stop working. But I think I can give you some advice that might help.
Priti:
Please, Auntie, I’m afraid that my husband’s family will beat me or throw me out if I don’t have a child soon, or if I can’t work.
Rithu:
Okay, I will give you some advice. But first I want to ask you some questions. How are you carrying the water?
Priti:
In the usual way. I have a large clay pot and I walk from our village to Dhaniapur to fill it.
Rithu:
How do you carry the water? On your side? On your head? Do you have a yoke to carry it on your shoulders?
Priti:
Well, usually I carry it on my side. On my right side, because the right side of my body is stronger.
Rithu:
Priti, you’re going to have to carry water in a different way. Did the doctor say that your spine was curved?
Priti:
Yes, she did.
Rithu:
Then it’s especially important that you find a new way to carry the water. Try using a shoulder yoke, or carrying it on your head. Carrying heavy loads on your head can hurt your neck, but it’s better than carrying it on the side. If you must carry the water on your side, switch sides often. How far do you have to carry the water?
Priti:
During the dry season, I walk one hour each way, twice a day.
Rithu:
Priti, that’s too much. It would be good if you could make a well closer to your home, or to your fields. Do you have any handcarts? Or any animals that can carry the water?
Priti:
No handcarts. And my husband needs the buffalo in the fields. But, I’ll try your suggestions for carrying things on my head or shifting the water pot from side to side. I’ve got to go now, my in-laws will be waiting for me to come home with them.
Rithu:
Goodbye, Priti. And good luck!
MUSICAL BREAK.
Narrator:
Carrying heavy loads requires a great deal of energy. Young women and girls who frequently carry large loads of water or firewood may have many health problems. As we just heard in the conversation between Priti and her aunt, some ways of carrying water are less harmful than others. Using a shoulder yoke or carrying heavy loads on your head is better than carrying things on your side. And remember, if you must carry water on your side, switch sides often.
SOUNDS OF MARKET. SOUNDS FADE UNDER NARRATOR’S VOICE.
Narrator
: We continue our story now as Rithu sets off to go back to the market when she sees Raju, her neighbour’s 15-year-old son, coming out of the clinic. She is surprised. This young man has always been healthy and strong, and Rithu wonders what could be wrong.
Rithu:
Raju, are you sick? Why are you at the clinic?
Raju
: Hello, Rithu. I haven’t been feeling well for the past few weeks. I was working in the fields one day when I fainted — just fell to the ground. Since then I have had diarrhea, and have been feeling dizzy and sleepy. I stayed in bed for a few days thinking that I had probably eaten some bad food. But when my dizziness and diarrhea didn’t go away, I came to the clinic.
Rithu
: What did the doctor say?
Raju
: He took some tests, then asked me whether I had been exposed to any chemicals. I told him that we had sprayed the cotton fields in the morning of the day I passed out. He said that I had been poisoned by the pesticide.
Rithu
: That is very serious, Raju. Did the doctor tell you when you might feel better again?
Raju
: The doctor said that I should feel well in a few weeks. He asked me if I had read the label on the pesticide container. And of course I hadn’t. I was curious, so I went home and read it. Do you know what it said? Right there on the label it said that no one should go into the field for at least 3 days after spraying. It’s lucky no one else became ill.
Rithu
: Do you know that you’re lucky, Raju?
Raju
: What do you mean?
Rithu
: I mean that you could have died or been permanently disabled. Before I was married, a boy in my village became very sick. Just like you, he worked in the fields a few hours after spraying pesticides. But he never got over being sick — after being poisoned, he could never concentrate enough to work. And over the next few years, he lost control of his arms and legs. The doctors said that his family would have to take care of him for the rest of his life.
Pesticides are poisons. They’re meant to kill, and they don’t care who or what they kill. We must be very careful with pesticides. Next time read the label first, Raju!
Raju
: Don’t worry, I will!
Rithu
: Goodbye, Raju.
Raju
: Goodbye, Rithu. And thanks for the advice.
MUSICAL BREAK.
Narrator: Farming can be a risky business for young people. It’s important to know about the risks of farming, and to take steps to prevent them. If you have to walk long distances carrying heavy loads of water or wood, learn about ways to carry your loads that are not so harmful to your body. Perhaps it is possible to make a well closer to your home. If you use pesticides, learn how to do it safely. Always read the instructions before you start.
Remember to take care of your health. It has to last you your whole life!
– END –
Acknowledgements
- Contributed by: Vijay Cuddeford, Researcher/Writer, Toronto, Canada.
- Reviewed by: Richard Beattie, Director, Youth Action, Canadian International Development Agency, Canada.
Information sources
- “Women carrying water: how it affects their health,” Annie Dufaut, Waterlines, Volume 6, No. 3, January 1988. IT Publications, 103-105 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4HH, UK.
- “The Long Walk Home,” Marilyn Carr, Appropriate Technology, Volume 10, No. 1, 1983. IT Publications, 103-105 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4HH, England.
- “Buying a bus for Mraru,” Diana Opondo, UNICEF News, Issue 104, 1980. UNICEF House, 3 United Nations Plaza, New York, New York 10017, USA. Tel: (1) 212 326.7000, Fax: (1) 212 887.7465 or 887.7454.
- “Acute Pesticide Poisoning: A Major Global Health Problem,” J. Jeyaratnam, World Health Statistics Quarterly, No. 43, 1990. World Health Organization, Avenue Appia 20, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. Tel: (+00 41 22) 791 2111, Fax: (+00 41 22) 791 3111.
- “Gender Strategies for Sub-Saharan Africa: An Overview,” Findings: Africa Region, No. 85. World Bank Group, 1998. World Bank Publications, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20433 USA. Tel: (703) 661-1580. Fax: (703) 661-1501. E-mail: books@worldbank.org.
- “Occupational Morbidity,” Penny Kane, in Women and Occupational Health: Issues and policy paper prepared for the Global Commission on Women’s Health, edited by Penny Kane, 1999. World Health Organization.
- Policy Document on Overall Sustainable Women Development for Socio-economic Development of Rural Africa, Green Africa Network, undated.
- Protection of Children’s Environmental Health, World Health Organization, undated.
- Public Health Impact of Pesticides Used in Agriculture, WHO/UNEP Working Group, 1990. World Health Organization.