Today,
October 15 is a global handwashing day. This day was originally created for
children and schools, but anyone can celebrate and promote handwashing with soap
all over the world.
<CDC
Global Handwashing Day>
<Global Handwashing Day>
Every year, pneumonia and diarrheal diseases claim 2 million
under age 5 children’s lives in developing countries. I did take using soap for
granted whenever I wash my hands. However, the soap itself may be expensive
stuff that remote villagers cannot afford to buy. Or, people just do not know
the importance of handwashing with soap,
have a hard time finding where to buy, or only use soap for washing dishes,
bathing and laundry. Handwashing with soap is a “do-it-yourself vaccine” that protect
against fecal contact and transmission of disease; this simple but critical
activity does reduce skin and eye infections, intestinal worms, SARS, diarrhea,
and respiratory infections such as pneumonia and influenza. Changing old habit
into washing hands frequently – after using a toilet, before/after handling
food, before cooking, or after cleaning a child – will be the most effective,
affordable and easiest way to save children’s and mothers’ lives.
To enhance the effectiveness of handwashing, using soap, or
at least ash is critical; fecal pathogens will not be dislodged by water alone,
and soap will removes the oils of hands and leaves pleasant smell on hands. How
long should we wash our hands each time? 20 seconds. Singing the “Happy
birthday” song two times during handwashing would be the perfect time to gauge
20 seconds.
World Vision Zambia Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (ZWASH)
team and I visited Hamaundu ADP- Demu area to attend the global handwashing day
celebration. Before coming here, I could not distinguish between borehole and
handwashing facilities. ‘Why are they
different?’ One of the ZWASH staff Emmanuel told me people do not wash
their hands at the borehole. ‘Why?’ He
said that people use borehole only for drawing water. ‘Okay…’ And I finally realized that how a handwashing facility looks like. It was right in front of the toilet, and water bottle and
soap water bottle were hanging on a branch. ‘Wow,
it looks so simple.’
Village members gathered under the shadow of the big tree, and enjoyed
performance and play about WASH. People dug a hole and constructed handwashing spot with 3 twigs within a few minutes, and a women demonstrated how to wash hand with soap. All I did today was sitting on the brick,
learning tribe language, Tonga, and waiting for lunch, but a scorching sun caused
dizziness. Having a good draught of water at that moment means everything; I
have just saved my life. Living in Africa is hard, but it makes me to feel
grateful what I already have. If you grab new cold water bottle and soap in
your hand, you are a lucky person. I might have been wash my hands for 10 seconds,
but from now, I will double the time of handwashing to eliminate all bacteria
attached on my hands. 
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