Wash Your Hands!

One of my successes in the past month has been a community-wide hand-washing campaign.  The community health worker in my village, Ms. Justina, and I identified the issue of gastrointestinal illnesses affecting young children.  I noticed that, in both of the schools in my community, students were staying home frequently due to diarrhea and vomiting, and Ms. Justina had many mothers stopping by her house for rehydration salts.  Together, we decided to approach the principals at of the two primary schools in the village to see if they would allow us to host a session on proper hand-washing in each classroom in attempt to promote hygiene among the students.  

So, as school started back in January, Ms. Justina and I hit the ground running.  I prepared some colorful flip-charts that used illustrations and simple text to demonstrate how to wash hands.  Ms. Justina helped me out with some Spanish translations, which came in handy, especially for younger students.  Every student was pre-tested before we started the session.  Some students forgot to use soap, most did not use running water, and some turned around and wiped their hands on their shirt.  Needless to say, the majority of students failed the pre-test, but that's okay because for the next half hour, we gave them a crash course in proper hand-washing.  

After we reviewed the five steps set forth in the project framework, students were post-tested.  In order to avoid a boring repeat activity, I had children dip their hand in washable paint and make a handprint on a poster that read, “We can wash our hands!”.  I told the students to pretend the paint was germs, and they had to wash all the “germs” off to pass the post-test.  This was a crowd favorite! The kids loved being allowed to get messy.  Ms.  Justina and I were sure to find a space outside to carry out  the activity in order to avoid a huge mess.  The teachers smiled when they saw their students so animated about such a simple task.  To date, we have completed the session in 12 classrooms and almost all the students we have reached have passed the post-test.  The activity was a great way for me to get to know the students and teachers a little better, and I think they are starting to understand my role here in the village.  Ms. Justina and I are planning a similar campaign for the coming month about nutrition. 

Love always, 

Jess