Recently a student group visited Cambodia for social studies. As one activity program during their schedule those students visited our children. They had wondered what they could do for the local children. I understand they had little idea what local people or children need. They were originally just thinking to offer a hygiene class to let children wash their hands.
Certainly there is a reality that people here easily got infected because of the environment with low hygiene. But it doesn’t mean that they don’t know how to wash hands. Sometimes an appropriate environment is not regulated. And how to make children recognize the importance to keep hygiene is another question.
Generally, washing hand education covers (1) to wash with running water, (2) effectiveness of washing hands with the order of only water< soap< alcohol, (3) how to wash properly, and (4) to wipe hands off after washing. Over here in a village, however, people keep water in a jar outside for daily use, so first of all the jar water should be clean. And there are many people who don’t care to use the same dustcloth to clean on the table and on the floor. Before teaching to wipe off to dry hands, we need to think how to change this kind of idea of local people.
In advanced countries, children can see how hand germs increase in a culture or can see real germs through a microscope. By such experiences I expect children will be excited to learn the reality and importance of hygiene. On the contrary, we have a difficulty to provide that kind of class for children here. Having a class to let children wash hands with soaps hardly links an actual practice of washing hands in their daily lives. How to derive an interest about hygiene from local people and children is the first point to solve.
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