Spreading good hygiene practices

Good hygiene means better health, and a better health provide a better basis for learning.

By educating school children about good hygiene practices we experience that the whole community benefits. The students bring their knowledge learned in school home, and in that way large parts of their village often experience improved hygiene and better health.

In the implementation of this project, we first educated teachers and representatives from the parents-teachers association about good hygiene and health. After training them, it was turn to implement so-called hygiene clubs in the schools. In 3 months, 600 pupils (of whom 300 girls and 300 boys) were busy educating their peers using drawings, songs, and other techniques. 

- We now got nice toilets and we have learnt a lot about hygiene. We will be forever smart! One of the hygiene club members from Muhuzu primary school in the Kirundo Province joyfully expressed. 

Many clubs have initiated sub clubs where each club member has 5 other pupils they have to teach about good hygiene practices including handwashing, body and clothing hygiene, the importance of using toilets, etc.  Thus, more than 2500 pupils are being regularly monitored by their peers. 

- Before the hygiene club, I was carelessly defecating in the bush. Now, I have taught my friends and parents about that the diseases that open defecation can bring », 15-year old Jimmy, a club member from Burara primary school in Kirundo explains. 

Burundi waterpump
A hygiene club member at Muhuzu primary school showing his peers how to wash their hands using a tippy tap, locally called a “honyorukarabe.”