Cape Town - In support of Global Handwashing Day on Saturday, a local non-profit organisaion launched a community-centred activation at Cavalleria Primary School in Scottsdene to raise awareness of the alarming state of hand hygiene in South Africa and to support vulnerable communities to make handwashing a habit among the youth.
With 47% of South Africans without basic handwashing facilities, and 66% of South Africans failing to wash their hands with soap, the Save Our Schools (SOS) non-profit organisation believed the message of its activation “Get Your Hands Dirty” was important. It hoped the initiative would help build a positive association between dirty hands and handwashing among children within the Kraaifontein community.
The activation, “Get Your Hands Dirty”, encouraged communities, brands and the government to unite to bring about positive change regarding hand hygiene in communities.
SOS spokesperson Amy Burrow said the day showcased the generosity of brands, including PepsiCo Foundation as the headline sponsor of the campaign, lending a helping hand to overcome poor hand hygiene, and the problems that arise because of this, such as diarrhoea and pneumonia.
“Increasing access to hand hygiene facilities, such as handwashing stations, soap and water, and education of hand hygiene in rural communities is the best way to make hand hygiene a healthy habit,” she said.
Representatives from the City also performed a health educational puppet show and handwashing demonstration for the pupils at the activation.
Community Services and Health chairperson Ronel Viljoen believed it was important to keep up the handwashing habits started during the Covid-19 pandemic and hoped they could continue to carry the message that washing hands could save lives.
She said the Health Department in the City was working in collaboration with private partnerships to make these events possible and that hand washing needed to become a part of everyone’s normal routine.
SOS chief executive Shelley Humphreys added that lack of access to hygiene facilities and poor handwashing habits were a reality for many children and communities in South Africa, which affected their health and wellbeing.
“It is only through the support of local non-profits, community leaders, brands and the government that the state of poor hand hygiene can be addressed.”
“Community-centred activations focused on education surrounding handwashing, and increasing community access to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities can assist in overcoming the state of bad hand hygiene,” Burrow said.