In commemoration of this year’s Children’s Day, a non-governmental organisation, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), has taken the initiative to educate students nationwide on the significance of cleanliness and proper hygiene practices.
Collaborating with Dettol Nigeria, the foundation aims to enlighten students through informative and engaging activities about the importance of handwashing and personal hygiene to maintain good health.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, WBFA, Anselm Ezeanya, said the aim was to instill in students the significance of maintaining personal hygiene and keeping safe from germs through hand washing.
“As a foundation, we have several interventions that we are running to help promote good health outcomes in the area of maternal and child health.
“We have realised that many students within the Lagos metropolis have little or no knowledge of how to protect themselves against germs. And those who know do it the wrong way.
“To change that, we incorporate the Dettol hygiene quest into the Children’s Day celebration activities by bringing schools together and doing an awareness walk, and from there, we also celebrate them as children,” Ezeanya.
Speaking further, Ezeanya said the sensitization will not end on May 27 as they planned to cover 200 schools in Lagos State, spreading across 10 local government areas, for the next two years.
He said our message was clear: “we want many children to understand that clean hands save lives by showing them how to our proper hand washing techniques wherever they are.
“We believe that when they have the right information, they will be able to share it with their peers in school. They will also be able to share it with their siblings when they get home. Share with their church friends and their Muslim friends, and from there, the information will cascade to the larger society so more people will be aware of the need to always wash hands and have clean hands.”
A junior secondary school student from Adebola Baptist High School in Surulere, Daramola Taiwo, said that he learned a lot at the Dettol hygiene quest.
He said that before now, he just washed his hands with water. But now he has been taught proper handwashing.
“We know that there are germs outside that we cannot see with our naked eyes, even on the clothes that we put on. And because they are harmful to our health, hence a need to wash our hands properly.
“My mom is a nurse, and she tells us every time about washing hands, but I don’t understand her. With the illustration and education, I now understand what she was saying. So I am going to imbibe the habit all the time.”
Another student from Wahab Folawiyo Grammar School, Osborne, Ikoyi, Onuga Favour, said she learned how to wash her hands properly to stay healthy. We were told to wash our hands after using the toilets, after class, and before doing anything like eating, cooking, or touching pets, as this will minimise the risk of getting germs.
Different activities to mark the celebration include a 20-minute awareness walk to preach the gospel about hand hygiene. Food and drinks, a music and dance competition, and a spelling bee contest.
Among the eight participating schools, Ilado Community Junior School stood out as the winning school in the spelling competition, while Wahab Folawiyo Grammar School and Akande Dahunsi Memorial Junior High School, Osborne, came in second and third, respectively.
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