Picturing Healthy Habits
A session on drawing posters was held with the WaSH club students (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) at the Kale Malo Primary School in mid-June at one of our project sites in Ethiopia. The purpose of this session was to raise awareness on the importance of sanitation and hygiene among the school children. The best posters will be selected by TOTO, our sponsor of this project, and the illustrations of the selected posters will be painted on the walls of the school latrines that were constructed earlier this year.
The importance of Sanitation & Hygiene
The words "sanitation" and "hygiene" are not something we think about often, although these habits are ingrained in our everyday lives and perhaps practiced slightly more consciously these days due to the pandemic.
However, matters of hygiene and sanitation are critical to the health of the communities such as Kale Malo, where the basic habit of hand washing is not commonly practiced, never mind the use of soap, and where open defecation is still prevalent. In such environments, water-borne diseases are commonly found, the causes of which are poorly understood within the community.
Drawing Session
All twenty-one students from grades four to eight belonging to the WaSH Club took part in this event. When asked whether the children have had any experience drawing before, only two raised their hands. This added to the challenge, but the children faced the task head-on.
At first, we explored the messages that the children of the WaSH Club regularly communicate to their fellow students: the importance of handwashing, washing of clothes, bathing, and so on. The children were then grouped in threes and were assigned to draw a picture illustrating one of these messages on a large sheet of paper with a couple of markers. Some dove in right away, while others started hesitantly, drafting rough sketches while discussing with their fellow group mates.
WaSH Club Students and Teacher
Towards the end of the session, the children added finishing touches with messages written in Oydinya, their native tongue. When asked to rank the best posters out of a total of eight, they unanimously chose the hand washing poster followed by the cleaning of latrines as the second best. It appears that the children are well aware of the importance of these aspects of hygiene.
Feedback
The children expressed their enjoyment of the activities, especially given the fact that many had never drawn pictures before.
"We don't have art lessons in school, so this was a special experience for the children", Simalis Bakala, the WaSH Club teacher explained. "There are teachers here who have artistic skills, but we don’t have the tools and supplies to conduct art classes. I was very pleased to see the children enjoying this session. The students who participated today have been WaSH Club members for some time now and possess a strong awareness of sanitation and hygiene, and I will continue to instruct them on their importance in maintaining their health."
Mr. Simalis, WaSH Club Teacher
