The Boy Who Never Washed

A Guest Poost by Jane McLoed

How do you relate to poo?
Poo and I have never really gotten along. I have so many problems with food that I often dread going to the toilet because:
a) It’ll take too long.
b) I’m still not satisfied afterwards.
c) It makes me feel unclean.

A part of me wishes that JK Rowling was right and we could magically remove poo from our bowels with a simple spell.

How do you relate to sewage?
It makes me gag. I hate it. I wash my hands if I even touch a door knob so you can imagine me around sewage.

What are your thoughts on the toilet, do you know where your sewage goes?
I usually scroll through my phone and distract myself while on the toilet.
I have a sewage tank at home but I’m not sure where the sewage goes from there…

Are you aware of the pipes that ceaselessly flow under your feet in the city streets?
Well… I’m aware now.

How do you relate to the maintenance of a clean city?
I’m a firm believer that a cleaner city will have a VERY positive impact for the residents as well as the environment. It’ll definitely boost the overall health of the population. Both physically and mentally.

What does it mean to be clean?

The Boy Who Never Washed

There once was a young boy who never washed. He was constantly covered in dirt, grime and slosh.
He came home from school with mud in his hair, when told he was filthy, he’d say: “I don’t care!”

Kids would avoid him, he smelt quite bad. When he didn’t wash his hands, his mother would get mad.

“You need to shower, you’re running amuck! You’re going to get sick if you keep this up!”

The boy just laughed and jumped on his bed, suddenly he fell and hit his head.

He coughed and he wheezed, he looked like a ghoul. His mother rushed him to the hospital.

“What’s wrong with my boy?” His mother said, crying as the doctor shook his head.

“He’s very ill with diarrhea, cholera and typhoid. I’m afraid death is something we can’t avoid!”

The mother cried: “He’s just a little dirty from playing at school! Surely he can’t die from being a mud-loving fool!”

“He played in sewage filled waters” the doctor said, “I’m sorry ma’am, but your boy is dead.”

The mother wept and the doctor sighed. The boy was silent when he died.

This boy would be fine if it was just normal dirt, not human faecal matter which caused so much hurt.

If the rivers were clean and not polluted with excrement, his death and many others could be avoided, but we’re negligent.

We should care about diseases caused from pollution and human waste. Society and the government need to act now, post-haste.

I leave you now as you wash yourself clean, be glad you’re not the boy who died from playing in a stream.

– Jane McLeod