Art for Gorillas

Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Feb 17 2009 | By: Julie

More of The Basics in Hygiene. Hand-Washing.

What are the 3 Hand-Washing Rules we are enforcing our students to follow?
1. Wash your hands after using the toilet. (The schools have drop toilets which are fearsome on a good day.)
2. Wash your hands after playing. (Our 3 hour session includes a 15 minute recess.)
3. Wash your hands before preparing and eating food.

Instructing the kids how to properly wash their hands in our particular situation and environment is not a simple matter of turning on the faucet and receiving hot water….as I am sure you imagined.

A taskmaster, I am! I direct, “Keep your hands underneath the running water for 30 seconds. Your classmates are counting aloud 1 - 30 in Kinyarwanda and English!”

The two schools where we are working - Rushubi and Nyabitsinde, located next to the protected area of the mountain gorilla park - have one water catchment each, but which are inaccessible to the children except when opened by a teacher with his/her key. One tank can’t supply water year round because the water is depleted during the dry seasons.

How many children do you know will go in search of their teacher once the whistle blows sounding off the ‘get back to class’ command?

I’ve asked the teachers of each school to write a proposal to AoC for an additional water tank for rain catchment. The tanks would be designated solely and physically positioned appropriately as the kids hand-washing facilities!

It’s going to be difficult for the kids to thoroughly wash their hands at home, but until better ways are implemented, buckets and soap will be at the school every day to continue with the habit forming.