Clean hands save lives
Lifebuoy marked Global Handwashing Day in Trinidad and Tobago by teaching thousands of children why it's important to wash their hands with soap.
Kids learn the Importance of Washing Hands with Soap
On Thursday October 15th, over 4,000 children in schools along the east-west corridor of Trinidad learned the importance of washing hands with soap in commemoration of Global Handwashing Day. Staffers of Unilever Caribbean Limited, makers of Lifebuoy soap, and volunteers from the University of Southern Caribbean teamed up to visit ten schools in the communities of Mt. D’Or, Mt. Lambert, St. Joseph, Curepe and St. Augustine to host a number of interactive activities that demonstrated to the children the importance of washing their hands with soap to protect themselves from germs.
Visible Germs
The activities at the schools featured interactive “Glo Germ” sessions which illustrate the importance of proper handwashing. Students were asked to place their hands under an ultra-violet light after applying imaginary germs (a non-toxic phosphorescent lotion that glows underneath the light). The students were then asked to wash their hands first without soap and then with Lifebuoy soap to demonstrate the role soap plays in removing dirt and germs from their hands.
Claudette Bell, Principal of the Mt. D’Or Government Primary School described the activity as effective for getting the message across to the children: “The activity helped the children really see the importance of soap in cleaning their hands. I think it is a lesson that they will take with them for life," she said.
Global Handwashing Day is celebrated worldwide every year on October 15th and is aimed at increasing awareness and understanding about the importance of handwashing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent disease.In 2008, over 120 million children in 70 countries participated in similar handwashing sessions. Unilever is a member of the Global Public Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap.
Global Handwashing Day Facts
•Children suffer disproportionately from diarrheal diseases – with more than 3.5 million children under five dying every year from diarrhea and pneumonia-related diseases.
•The simple act of washing hands with soap can reduce the incidence of diarrheal rates among children under five by almost 50 per cent, and respiratory infections by nearly 25 percent.
•Handwashing with soap - particularly at critical moments, including after using the toilet and before handling food – is a key cost effective and life-saving intervention.
•Global Handwashing Day was initiated in 2008 by the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap, and it is endorsed by a wide array of governments, international institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs, private companies and individuals around the globe.
