A Simple Cure
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- A Simple Cure
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CHILD-to-child Readers
A Simple Cure
Colette Hawes
A simple cure
Editor Pauletta Edwards
Illustrator Joan Gammans
Project team:
Ken Cripwell World Health Organisation/ Institute of
Education, London, UK
Dr Pauletta Edwards University College Cardiff, UK.
Shan Griffith-Pinna Curriculum specialist.
Colette Hawes Language specialist
Hugh Hawes Institute of Education, London, UK.
Dr Keith Lowe Ministry of Education, Kingston, Jamaica.
Augustine Veliath Voluntary Health Association of India.
Professor David Morley Institute of Child Health, London, UK
Consultants:
Dr Gregory Akenzua University of Benin, Nigeria.
Dr Sam Aleyideino Commission of Works, Yola, Nigeria.
Mr Arthur Baganywa National Curriculum Development,
Uganda.
Dr Sam Tunde Bajah International Centre for Educational
Evaluation, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Dr Hassan Bella London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine/Institute of Tropical Medicine, Sudan.
Professor Nimrod Bwibo Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi,
Kenya.
Dr Gilane Osman Children's Hospital, Ainshams Faculty of
Medicine, Cairo, Egypt.
Mr M ichael Savage Institute of Education, Nairobi, Kenya.
Professor Henry Ayot Kenyatta University, Kenya.
Dr Tom Lambo Deputy Director General, World Health
Organisation, Geneva
Lady Khama Botswana.
Longman
MAINLY FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS
Throughout the world many people die of
diarrhoea, especially children between the
ages of one and three.
Diarrhoea can be cured by a very easy method
if the cure is started soon enough. You can
make a very easy mixture called the Special
Drink with:
Water
Salt
Sugar
A cup full of this drink must be given to the
child every time it has a stool, even when it
vomits and rejects it.
This book tells how an eleven year old girl
cures her small brother by patiently giving him
this drink.
tOg?
C/i 14&
Longman Group UK Limited,
Longman House, Burnt Mill, Harlow,
Essex CM20 2JE, England
and Associated Companies throughout the world
COM.M’J'MI T Y HEAL f 1 C ’LL
47/1. (First Fioor) St. Msjks Road,
BanpalorS - 560 001.
© Longman Group Limited 1985
All rights reserved; no part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the Publishers.
First published 1985
Reprinted 1987
Set in Univers Medium (Lasercomp)
Produced by Longman Group (FE) Ltd
Printed in Hong Kong
ISBN 0-562-65511-1
2
Jojo is ill
Mary Ajala no longer goes to school, but she is a clever girl
of eleven. She looks after many people in her home. She
helps her mother. She looks after the youngest baby when
her mother is busy.
Mary has a good friend, John Garba. He is their
neighbour. He is only nine and he goes to school. When he
comes home he plays with Mary. John tells Mary about
what he learns at school every day.
3
Early one morning Mr and Mrs Ajala went to the
hospital. It was very far away. They went to see the nurse.
Mrs Ajala was expecting another baby soon. She told
Mary to look after the children. She said: "Try to keep the
chickens off the road and tidy round the house. I have left
you plenty of food. If I am late, you can go to our
neighbour, Mrs Garba. She will help you.”
Mrs Ajala said: "Jojo was crying a bit. He hurt his hand
yesterday. He is sleeping now. He will be better when he
wakes up.”
Then Mr and Mrs Ajala went down the road to go to the
hospital.
4
After her mother left, Mary tidied the house. She swept
the bits of food outside and the chickens quickly came and
ate them up. Then she put the bed clothes straight. She
washed the pots and pans, plates and cups and left them
to dry in the sun. She threw the dirty water onto the
garden. She fetched clean water from the well. Then she
began to play with her big brother and sister.
Mary has two brothers and one sister. Peter is seven,
Juliet is five and Jojo is only one and a half.
5
Peter and Juliet are both able to take care of
themselves. They can dress themselves. Peter and Juliet
can also go to the latrine or toilet by themselves, when they
want to pass water. This water is called urine. Urine is
useless water. Our body throws it out. When we pass this
water we call it to urinate. The big thing we do in the latrine
is called a stool. These two children are clean. They always
wash their hands every time they go to the toilet. But little
Jojo is not so clean. Mary and Juliet have to change his
clothes when he urinates or does a stool on them. Often he
plays only in a shirt. Then he does not dirty too many
shorts.
6
Jojo was asleep. Mary played a game with her brother
and sister. They took little sticks and tied them together
with grass and made a man. Then they made a woman.
Then they put two large leaves together and made a hall.
The stick man was married to the stick woman by a stick
priest. Mary and her brother and sister sang the songs they
always hear when people get married.
7
They played more games. Then the children all ran off
to pick mangoes.
When they came back it was hot. Mary went into the
house to see if Jojo was awake. A bad smell came from the
house and there were many flies flying around. The flies
said: "Buzz, buzz, buzz!"
Mary knew that she must not leave flies on the baby.
Her mother always sent them away from the house. She
ran to the place where the little boy was lying.
8
"Flies are dirty. Flies make people ill," thought Mary. "I
must look after baby Jojo. When Mother comes home, she
will be pleased. She will see that I can be a good mother.
Mary came close to Jojo. The smell was very bad. All
the flies went up and flew round and round the room. They
made a buzz, buzzing sound. Jojo was lying on wet bed
clothes. His clothes were all dirty.
Mary took a clean cloth. She wet it in some fresh water.
Then she washed the baby. She put clean clothes on him.
Then she washed her hands.
9
She laid Jojo on clean bed clothes. He seemed weak.
He did not want to walk. Then she took all the dirty, smelly
clothes outside and began to wash them. "Why does his
stool smell so bad?" she asked herself. "Why is there more
water than usual? Why are his clothes all covered in such a
wet stool ?" Mary often took the stool off the cloth with a
stick. Today she could not because it was too wet.
When Mary finished washing, she put the clothes to
dry on the bushes near the hut.
10
Then she went in to see little Jojo. He was not very well.
His eyes were not bright. He was breathing loudly and
crying weakly. She tried to give him some soft food, but he
was not hungry. He ate a little bit. Then he began to cry
again. Mary gave him some tea to drink. She had to help
him a lot. She told him little stories to make him drink. She
could see that he was not able to do anything by himself.
11
10^7
COM.MU.^lLY >4EALlbkC£LL
■‘’I’oilflffllfl 11
Mary thought: "Juliet was ill like Jojo when she was
two. Mother looked after her day and night till she was
better. Juliet also had wet stools. She didn't want to run
around and play. She didn't want to eat. She didn't want
to drink. She didn't want to make loud noises, or try to sing.
She didn't want to sit in the sun. She didn't want to catch
flies or run after the chickens. She didn't want to laugh and
play. She only wanted to cry.”
Little Jojo had a dry skin. His mouth was dry too. Mary
sang to him. She got a wet cloth and passed it over his face
and hands.
12
She got fresh clothes for him to lie on. She put
something soft under his head. Then he could lie back.
After a while Jojo fell asleep.
Mary went outside again. She called Peter and Juliet
and they all ate some food. She washed up their plates and
put everything back in its right place. Then she went into
the garden near her house. She picked some vegetables.
Her mother could cook them when she came home. Mary
did not know when her mother would get back. There were
not many cars or buses and the hospital was far away.
13
The other children were playing. Mary could hear them
calling to one another. She felt sleepy so she sat down by
Jojo. She fell asleep. When she woke up she was afraid.
Little Jojo was crying and calling weakly.
This time he was very dirty. All the clothes he was lying
on were wet and dirty. They were covered with wet stools.
He could not get up. He could not even crawl away. He
was sick. He vomited. His face was dirty and there was
vomit in his hair. His mouth was dry. He needed to drink.
14
Mary knew that something was wrong. Her mother and
father were late. She called Juliet and said: "Go and see if
Mrs Garba is at home. Ask her to come and help."
Then she began to clean up. She tried to find fresh,
clean clothes for her baby brother to lie on. Every time she
cleaned the baby he got dirty and smelly again. She
washed her hands every time she washed Jojo. After a time
she had to take some of Peter's and Juliet's. All his clothes
were wet. They were all drying on the bushes.
15
The special drink
After a time Mary put a big cloth round his bottom. Then
the stool only went on the cloth. Jojo did not get dirty all
over. She changed it every time it got dirty. She was getting
very tired when Juliet came back with John. Mrs Garba
was visiting a neighbour two miles away and was coming
home later. John was home from school. He came to see if
he could help.
16
Mary began to talk to John very fast. She said: "Jojo is
getting weaker. He makes his clothes dirty more and more
often. Sometimes it is not very much. It always smells very
bad. The stools are very wet and green. He will not eat. I
have a lot of trouble to make him drink, but he cries for
water. He doesn't pass much urine. He only does wet,
smelly stools. Oh, John I I don't know what to do I Mother
is away and the baby is very ill.”
17
John looked at little Jojo. Then he said: "Last week the
health worker came to our school. She talked to us about
diarrhoea. When the stool is wet like this it is diarrhoea."
She said: "Many little children die when they get
diarrhoea. They die because all the water goes out of their
body. We must put water back into them. This will help
them to live. We must put back as much water as they lose.
They must have one cup full of water every time they pass
a stool.” Then John said: "Jojo has diarrhoea."
18
Mary stopped him. “Oh, John! How can we do that?
Jojo will not drink. He will not sit up.”
John said: “Let me finish and you will see. The health
worker showed us how to make a special drink. She used
water, salt and sugar. This special drink helps children with
diarrhoea. It makes them better.”
"Good,” said Mary, “We have water, salt and sugar. I
have clean water ready when we need it."
19
John said: “At school we made a special spoon for
measuring the sugar and salt. We made it with a bottle top
and a piece of metal.”
CAP WITH SUGAR
SPOON WITH SALT
“Our teacher let us take it home. I will go and get it. You
get a cup full of clean water. We will try to feed Jojo. I will
show you how."
“Oh, John I Thank you, thank you! Please run as fast
as you can!“ said Mary.
20
Mary went back to Jojo and changed his clothes. She
washed he hands. She made him comfortable. She said:
"Little Jojo, you will soon be better." She got clean water
inacup. Shegot the salt and sugar. She put them all on the
table.
Then John came back.
21
John showed the spoon to Mary. Then he took a little
salt between two fingers. This just filled the small part of
the spoon. He dropped the salt into the cup of water. Then
Mary took some sugar. She took as much as she could put
in the large part of the spoon. She dropped the sugar into
the cup of clean water. Then John took the measuring
spoon he made. He moved it round and round in the cup.
Soon they could no longer see the sugar and salt. Then the
drink was ready.
22
Mary said : "Do you think we really can give Jojo this
drink? Perhaps you have made a mistake, John. Perhaps
Jojo will go to sleep and get better by himself."
"No, no!" John said. "Can't you see he is getting
weaker and weaker? His body will become dry and he will
die. The grass dies in the dry weather when there is no rain.
It needs rain to give it life and make it grow.
We are like grass. We can't grow and be strong when
there is no water to keep us alive. Come on! Don't be
afraid. I am sure we must try to make Jojo drink this special
drink."
23
Mary called Juliet. Juliet took the baby in herarms.
Then he could sit up against her. John and Mary tried to
make him drink. They held the cup near his mouth and let
the drink go in by drops. They gave him the drink very
slowly. They said: "You will grow big and strong if you
drink.” He took a few drops.
They waited for a short time. Then they said to him:
"Drink a bit more for Mother.” He took a few more drops.
"Drink some for Father.” He took a little more.
24
Every time they gave him a few drops, they made
noises like dogs and chickens. Each time Jojo took a few
more drops. They sang to him. They talked to him until he
had drunk all the special drink.
Soon he passed another stool. He was dirty again.
Mary had to wash him and change him. His bottom hurt
him. He cried a lot. Mary comforted him. John went home
to see if his mother was there.
Mrs Garba was at home. John told her about Jojo, She
ran to see Jojo.
She listened to the children. They told her about the
Special Drink.
25
It was evening. Mary wondered why her mother and
father were not home yet. Mrs Garba said to her: "Don't
worry. I will look after you. Your Mother and Father will
soon be home. You have been a very good girl. You and
John did the right thing. I have heard about diarrhoea on
the radio. You must go on giving the baby more to drink.
You must give him drink slowly. Give him a small drink
many times in the night.”
Mrs Garba and Mary fed the other children and put
them to bed.
Then Mrs Garba said: "John can stay with you. If you
need me in the night, he can come and call me." Then she
went home.
26
Mary and John lifted Jojo gently. They sang to him.
They said: "Drink, little brother. It will make you big and
strong. You will not cry any more. You will not have any
more pain. You will not feel weak. You will eat. You will
play. You will run after the chickens again. Be a good boy
and drink."
They gave him drops of water, or the Special Drink
John made. Sometimes they gave him tea. Soon little Jojo
went to sleep. They changed him every time he was dirty.
Mary washed the clothes and put them out to dry. The
ones she had washed in the morning were dry. So she had
enough clothes to put on Jojo.
27
The children looked after Jojo all night. When he cried,
they were near him. They woke up and looked after him
like two good nurses. They helped one another. They said:
"He seems a bit better now. He is taking his drink better.” It
was very hard to wake up to feed Jojo. They were very
tired. But Mary thought: "I can't let Jojo die like grass
without rain.” So she got up once again and gave him
another drink. Then, very early in the morning, Jojo fell into
a good sleep. Mary and John slept too.
Some time later they heard a noise outside. Mr and Mrs
Ajala were home at last. They were all too tired to talk.
They all went to sleep until it was light.
28
Jojo gets better
Peter and Juliet woke them up, saying: "We are hungry. It
is day time. Get up!"
John and Mary got up. John was late for school. He
ran home to get his books.
Mr and Mrs Ajala went to look at Jojo. He was still
asleep. He was quiet. He was breathing gently. His skin
was not so dry. He was not dirty so they let him sleep.
29
Then Mary said: "Oh, Mother! I am so glad you are
home. Baby Jojo has been so ill I He had diarrhoea. John
came and helped me to give him a special drink. His mother
came and helped us. We gave Jojo a lot of drinks. We
looked after him all through the night. Now you can help
me. I am so tired I Dear Mother, why were you so late? We
were so afraid I"
30
Her mother said: "We waited a long time at the
hospital. After we saw the nurse it was very late. We
wa'ked to the bus stop, but no bus came. We waited a long
time. Then a man came in a car. We had to pay him a lot of
money, but he took us in his car. After a few miles the car
had a puncture. The man got out and changed the wheel.
The road was bad and so the car went slowly. When we
were half way home, the car got another puncture. This
time the man couldn't change the wheel. We had to get out
and walk home. That is why we were so late.”
31
COMMUNITY HEALTH CELL
1OE7
47/1. (First Floor) St. Marks Road,
Bangalore - 560 001.
Mr Ajala went off to work in a hurry. Mary and her
mother tidied up the house and fed the children. Then they
went back to Jojo. He was awake so they changed his
clothes. They washed him. He was not so wet this time. He
drank a cup of tea and ate a little soft food. Soon he fell
asleep again.
32
At school, John told his teacher: "I am sorry I am late
for school. I am very tired. I helped my friend, Mary, to look
after her little brother, Jojo. He had diarrhoea and was very
ill. He could hardly drink. He was very dirty. Mary had to
wash him very often. She had to fetch a lot of water. I
helped her carry it. We gave Jojo drinks all night. That is
why I didn't wake up early this morning.”
33
His teacher said: "Tell me more about this baby."
John answered: "The baby passed stools like dirty
water. He didn't pass much urine. His eyes were not bright.
His skin was very dry. He wanted to drink, but he couldn't.
He was too weak. Sometimes he was sick after a drink. We
told him stories and helped him to drink. We sang to him to
stop him from crying."
THE STOOL IS L|&E. WATER
j
I
THE
THe
THE
His teacher was very pleased that John helped Mary.
He asked John: "Will you please tell the class all about it."
34
John told his friends: "We mode the special drink. Do
you remember? We all learnt to make it at school last week.
We gave Jojo short drinks very often for many hours. We
gave him one cup full every time he passed a stool. We
washed him many times. When Jojo was getting better, he
ate a bit of soft food too. We changed his clothes. We made
his bed clean every time he made it dirty. We woke up
every time he cried. At last we all fell asleep until the other
children woke us.”
35
The teacher said: "The health worker will come to school
soon. She wants to see the special spoons you have made. I
will tell her about John and Mary and Jojo."
The health worker came to school the next day. She
asked John: "Where does Jojo live? I want to visit him.”
John told her how to get there. The health worker went to
see Jojo the same day.
36
It was quite late when she got there. The sun was high
in the sky and it was very hot. But there were no flies on
Jojo. He was lying quietly. He was tired, but he did not
have much pain. Mary was playing with his fingers. She
counted them. "One, two, three, four, five." She held one
finger and said: "This is Mother.” Then she held another
finger: "This is Father." Then another finger: "This is
John." Then another: "This is Mary." Then she held the
last little finger. She said: "And this is Jojo. He is a good
boy. He drank his drink. He drank all of it. He is better
again."
37
Mrs Ajala welcomed the health worker. The health
worker looked at Jojo. She touched him and asked Mary
many questions. She asked:
"When did you give your little brother food? When did
you give him a drink? How much did he drink? When he
had his last stool did he cry very much? When was the last
time he had a stool?”
Then she said: "Mary, you have been a very good girl.
Even I couldn't have looked after Jojo better.”
38
Then she said to Mrs Ajala: "I am sure you are very
pleased with your daughter. You are a lucky woman. You
have a clever daughter. She has saved the life of your
baby. She started to give Jojo drink before he was very ill.
She gave him plenty to drink very slowly. When you do not
do this, babies die. Sometimes they have to be carried to
hospital. It takes some days to make them better.
Sometimes they come too late and even the doctors can't
save them. Then they die.”
39
Then the health worker said to Mary: "You must go on
giving Jojo plenty to drink. You must give him some food
as well. Give him a little soft food when he will take it. I will
come back tomorrow. I think he will be well again by
then."
Mary said: "You mustn't only thank me. I didn't know
what to do. John helped me. Juliet was good too. She did
a lot to help me. I couldn't do it by myself."
40
k
That evening Jojo was better. His brother, Peter and his
sisters, Mary and Juliet, hugged and kissed him.
They said: "We will play with you tomorrow." They all
thanked God for making little Jojo better.
That night they all slept very well.
Mrs Ajala had to wake up once or twice in the night to
give Jojo drinks. She had to change him too. But he was
nearly well again.
41
Next day was a holiday. John came in the morning. He
was happy to see how well Jojo was. The health worker
also came. She told John:
lam very pleased with you.
You did well. When you grow up you will become a doctor.
You will save many lives, but you have already saved one
life."
42
Things to do
I
"A Simple Cure”-A Play.
You must have:
Mary
Her mother
Her father
Peter
Juliet
Jojo
John
His mother
A health worker
A teacher
Perhaps you need more people.
What can each person do?
What can each person say?
Act the play for your friends.
2
Play the stick game.
What else can you do with sticks and leaves?
3
Play the finger game.
Do you know any other finger games?
4
Make the Special Drink.
Taste it. What do you think of it?
What can you do to make it taste better?
43
5
How con you moke a spoon for the Special Drink?
Find things near your house for making the spoon.
Make a spoon for the Special Drink.
6
You are the health worker. You come to a village where
no one knows about the Special Drink. They don't
know about the Simple Cure. How will you tell them
about it?
7
Name 5 things that Mary and John did for Jojo.
8
Name 6 things that were wrong with Jojo.
These things showed that he was ill.
9
3 things showed that Jojo had diarrhoea.
What were they?
I 0 Make a list of all the children you know who had
diarrhoea this year.
How old were they?
Did they die?
44
The three-word game
Take 11+ pieces of paper about 3 cm square
On 3 of them write A
AAA
On 2 of them write R
R R
On 2 of them write S
S S
On 2 of them write T
TT
On I of them write E
E
On I of them write W
W
On I of them write G
G
On I of them write L
L
On I of them write U
U
These 1pieces of paper make up the three words for
making the Special Drink.
I
Take away S and R
How can you put together the remaining 12 letters so
that they make the three words?
2
Take away S and T
How can you put together the remaining I 2 letters so
that they make the three words?
3
Take away S and A
How can you put together the remaining I 2 letters so
that they make the three words?
45
REMEMBER
When a child has diarrhoea:
I
Always wash your hands.
2
Make the Special Drink.
3
Give it straight away.
U-
Give it slowly.
5
Even when the child vomits.
6
One cup for every stool.
7
Give a little soft food.
8
Wash the dirty clothes.
9
Keep the child clean.
46
The CHILD-to-child stories are edited by Pauletta
Edwards, illustrated by Joan Gammans and written
by a group of teachers and doctors:
Ken Cripwell
Pauletta Edwards
Shan Griffith Pinna
Colette Hawes
Hugh Hawes
Keith Lowe
Augustine Veliath
David Morley
What is CHILD-to-child?
CHILD-to-child is an International
Programme which teaches and encourages
children of school age to concern
themselves with the health, welfare and
general development of their younger pre
school brothers and sisters and of other
younger children in their community.
Each of the stories in this series of readers is
based on the CHILD-to-child concept of
one child helping another.
It is hoped too that children will read these
stories to their younger brothers and sisters
thus giving practical expression to the
CHILD-to-child idea.
THE PUBLISHERS RECEIVED ASSISTANCE IN THE PRODUCTION OF
THIS BOOK AS A LOW COST EDITION FROM THE SWEDISH
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.
CHILD-to-child Readers
isbn
o-saa-ansn-i
9 780582 895119
The CHILD.-to-child Primary Health Readers have been developed to
teach and encourage primary school children in Africa to become
concerned with the health and general development of their pre
school brothers and sisters. Each book has been written by an
experienced educationalist in conjunction with a panel of medical
and language specialists. The books have been graded into two
reading levels, and each deals with a different health topic of
relevance to children in Africa.
The readers can be used as an integral part of a primary Science,
Social Studies, Environmental Science, Home Economics or Health
Science curriculum.
A Simple Cure is a Level 2 Reader whxch emphasises the dangers of
diarrhoea in young children. The book shows children how to
prevent death from diarrhoea by acting promptly and using a very
simple remedy.
Other books in the series:
Level 1
Dirty Water
Good Food
Accidents
Level 2
Down with Fever
Teaching Thomas
Longman 555
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