Children in DRC take part in a handwashing demonstration organised by Oxfam, as part of Global Handwashing Day 2016
English
David Marques, Oxfam’s Programme Manager of SWIFT in DRC, takes part in a handwashing demonstration.
Women take part in a march as part of Oxfam-led celebrations of Global Handwashing Day 2016 in DRC.
Another march to mark Global Handwashing Day 2016 in DRC.
A demonstration on Global Handwashing Day showing how a handwashing station can be built simply and cheaply.
On 15th October, Oxfam led celebrations in four villages in the Masisi and Lubero Territories to mark Global Handwashing Day. Over 3000 people took part and more than 4000 were reached through local radio messages.
These villages are all in health zones where SWIFT has been working. As David Marques, Oxfam’s Programme Manager of SWIFT in DRC says “One of the main purposes of SWIFT is to promote hygiene good practices. We played a lead role in organising these celebrations with the local authorities and we supported them financially.”
The activities included marches, role plays and a section for participants to reflect on handwashing. Local radio was also used to help sensitize the communities. And there was a handwashing quiz with bars of soap given out as prizes. This was particularly popular with children.
David added “The day was an excellent opportunity to sensitize and talk to the community about the importance of handwashing; the key moments to wash hands; how to construct a simple but useful handwashing station and how to use it properly. It was really fun!”
The international slogan for this year’s campaign was “Make Handwashing a Habit”. The DRC had an additional slogan of its own: “Choosing to wash hands is choosing health”.
During the activities, the team emphasised the following messages:
- Properly washing hands can prevent diseases that kill hundreds of thousands of children each year.
- To wash your hands properly, you need to use soap and clean, pouring water.
- Washing hands properly need not be expensive.
- It is vital to have a handwashing station close to every latrine.
- There are five key moments when washing hands is critical: after using the toilet; after wiping a child or changing nappies; before handling food; before eating (especially important in DRC where most people eat with their hands); before breast-feeding.
David concluded “Our presence in activities such as this is very important as it helps us to stay in close touch with our partners and the local people. It was a great moment to share with the local authorities too, who really supported and played an active role in the celebration.”
You can read more about Global Handwashing Day here.
Some useful additional online resources relating to handwashing are available here.
