12 August,2016 08:54 PM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
On the occasion of World Youth Day, an NGO from Mumbai inaugurated a campaign for creating awareness on water sanitation and hygiene practices
On the occasion of World Youth Day, an NGO from Mumbai inaugurated a campaign for creating awareness on water sanitation and hygiene practices.
The NGO 'Save the Children' also featured an exhibition of photographs taken by the children showing the need for improved sanitation and hygiene practices in our country. A skit was performed depicting 10 steps in handwashing. The students of Sree Narayana Guru college also participated in the campaign by taking the message from the campaign back to their homes and communities.
Chaavat boys, popular performing artists group had a customised their a dance routine around the subject and used popular hindi songs to drive the message of how small acts of washing hands, carrying a handkerchief etc can prevent one from falling sick. The child champions also performed a street play where they stressed the importance of keeping their surroundings clean, using a washroom and not littering public places. The student attendees mentioned that they learnt a lot from the exhibition and the performances. Sanju, student SNG college mentioned that it was the first time that such a topic had been conveyed in such fun manner and after this he will always wash his hands first before eating.
Ayesha, a child champion and resident of Govandi mentioned that the photo exhibition was actually a chance for them to understand their locality in a better way and now they urge other people in the community to also maintain better standards of hygiene. The group disbursed promising to discuss the programme at home and pledging that they will take better care of their surroundings and also urge their friends, families and communities they live in to do the same.
In India, around 791 million people use open spaces for defecation. Around 92 million have no access to safe drinking water and many more fall ill due to poor quality of potable water. In light of these statistics, such a campaign holds great relevance in trying to bring a behavioural change in the younger generation by making them of how unsafe wash practises leads are detrimental to both health and productivity.
