It takes more than installing sanitation facilities for a water and sanitation project to succeed in the long term. It’s also important to cultivate healthy habits. Good hygiene practices can reduce diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and pneumonia by nearly 50%. Washing hands with soap can save lives.
The Rotary Club of Box Hill Central, Victoria Australia, facilitates Operation Toilets, a program that builds toilets and delivers sanitation education to schools in developing countries including India and Ethiopia. The group constructs separate facilities for boys and girls to ensure privacy, and Rotary members teach students how to wash their hands with soap. Workers in each school are instructed in how to maintain the facilities.
In the Philippines, the Rotary Club of Puchong Centennial Malaysia sponsored several speakers to instruct students about oral hygiene, hand washing and the importance of frequent bathing. After each presentation, students were given kits that included toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, combs and other toiletries.
And in the United States, members from the Rotary Club of Ithaca in Ithaca, New York, visit schools within their district to instruct youngsters about the importance of handwashing and how to effectively wash their hands.
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Thank you.