Hand-washing as easy as "Happy Birthday"

This week Hope Alive! kids got a lesson in what many consider to be the most "basic"of hygiene principles - hand-washing. This comes as part of an ongoing effort to introduce health topics for disease prevention and health promotion at Saturday club.

Not too basic

All too often "washing one's hands" for a Ugandan child may mean a quick rinse with water from a jerry can. The importance of such a basic hygiene principle cannot be overlooked however. The World Health Organization reports that, "handwashing with soap can reduce the incidence of diarrhoeal disease by over 40 per cent...and has been cited as one of the most cost-effective public- health interventions."

"Hands-on" fun

Hope Alive! kids learned about proper hand hygiene in a visually memorable way - with the use of Glo Germ,™ a liquid that contains proven safe ingredients formulated to be the same size as bacteria. With the use of an ultra-violet light and its luminescent properties, it simulates the spread of germs, teaching how quickly and broadly germs can be spread in a short period of time.

During the lesson kids received a squirt of Glo Germ and then had a chance to "wash" their hands using only water. With the help of UV light they were able to actually visualize the "bacteria" that remained on their hands; then they were given another chance to do it the right way with soap and compare the results.

Be the scientist!

Kids were encouraged to be active participants discussing questions including "Why should we wash our hands?," "What are germs?," "How should we wash our hands?," and "When should we wash our hands?." They learned practical points like the answer to the question, "How long should it take to wash my hands?" About 20 seconds, or the time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday!" At the end of the lesson each participant received a bar of soap to take home.

References:

http://www.glogerm.com

http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/82/8/news.pdf