For eight-year-old Koungnang, visits to hospital used to be a frequent occurrence. She wasn’t in the habit of regularly washing her hands with soap, and all too often bouts of diarrhoea would leave her in the grip of abdominal pain.
That changed when she started school at age seven, and learned from her teachers the importance of handwashing.
“When I started going to school, our teachers taught my classmates and I how to wash our hands properly,” she says. “Our teachers explained the importance of observing cleanliness in school and at home. They said that this will keep us safe from germs and sickness.”
The seemingly simple practice of washing hands thoroughly and regularly has made an enormous difference in Koungnang’s life. She no longer has such frequent, severe stomach aches, and she’s free to focus on learning and enjoying her time at school. Koungnang’s experience illustrates an important health message: handwashing with soap can cut the risk of diarrhoea by at least 40 per cent.1
The work of Tearfund’s local partner World Concern Laos includes a strong focus on water, health and sanitation for schools and communities. In addition to helping to equip teachers like Koungnang’s with training in safe sanitation practices, World Concern works with schools to construct handwashing stations and ensure they’re properly maintained. A number of schools have also been provided with water filters. Teacher training covers other topics, too, like nutrition, dental and oral care, and prevention of communicable diseases like malaria and dengue.
The seemingly simple practice of washing hands thoroughly and regularly has made an enormous difference in Koungnang’s life. She no longer has such frequent, severe stomach aches, and she’s free to focus on learning and enjoying her time at school.
World Concern also trains Village Health Volunteers, who lead health awareness campaigns in their communities. Their training includes hygiene and sanitation, dental and oral care, vaccination for children, breastfeeding and care of newborns, and nutrition for pregnant women and lactating mothers.
This is having a clear impact in the eight villages where World Concern is working. The majority of households in the villages are showing improved health. The activities of Village Health Volunteers, along with construction of latrines, provision of handwashing stations and latrines, and education in schools, have all contributed to this improvement. And there are lower rates of diarrhoea and other communicable diseases among vulnerable people in the villages.
For Koungnang, early education about hand washing may well have a ripple effect.
“This led to her understanding that whatever she does on her hand, it affects her body,” explained a staff member from World Concern Laos.
“Through this positive experience, she now dreams to become a nurse to take care of her parents’ health and help prevent any illnesses that may be caused by unsanitary practices.”
Koungnang’s message to World Concern Laos is a simple, heartfelt one: “Khob Jai Lai Lai Der [thank you] World Concern!”
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1. data.unicef.org/topic/child-health/diarrhoeal-disease/
Related projects have received support from the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).
