Daisy, Gulshan and Yamuna, three-year-olds enrolled in a balwadi in Chintadripet, were excited about the soap suds that bubbled up when their teacher asked them to wash their hands before a meal.
The children were part of the Global Handwashing Day awareness programme organised by UNICEF. Little Gulshan did not understand much about germs and diseases, but she got her basics right. "I must clean my hands before eating," she said.
The awareness programme held at Chennai Corporation High School at Chintadripet reached out to students from pre-kinder-garten to Standard X. The children were given a demonstration on how to wash their hands thoroughly with soap, especially after using the toilet. Deputy Mayor R.Sathyabhama told students that they must also use footwear to keep their feet clean. UNICEF education specialist Aruna Rathnam said parents sent small children to school without footwear fearing that the children would lose them. She suggested that the children be allowed to keep their footwear on rather than leave them outside class so that they would not lose them.
Corporation schools, at present, do not provide soaps for children to wash hands. However, Corporation Deputy Commissioner (Education) Anu George said the idea would be considered. Students also took out a short rally holding placards on sanitation.
Courtesy: The Hindu, Chennai.
Wikipedia article on "GLOBAL HANDWASHING DAY":
Grateful thanks to the Staff Reporter who wrote the above article, The Hindu and Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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