Handwashing Sessions Go Live in Schools Across Turkmenistan
Schoolchildren from all over Turkmenistan take part in the interactive online sessions celebrating the Global Handwashing Day
Today, UNICEF and the Ministry of Education, engaged schoolchildren from all over Turkmenistan to take part in the interactive online sessions celebrating the Global Handwashing Day. The sessions aim to promote the importance of hand hygiene and healthy lifestyle behaviors among schoolchildren, especially during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The young SDG ambassadors, who facilitated the sessions, raised awareness about the Global Handwashing Day, importance of hygiene promotion, explained how germs are transmitted through dirty hands and demonstrated the steps of proper handwashing with water and soap. The facilitators applied interactive methods of teaching and learning which they practiced and learned with the specialists of UNICEF prior to the sessions.
Children were very interested to see our demonstration of hands with glitter imitating germs and to see the transmission of the germs on books, apples, and cups. This role game helped us easily explain the process of transmission of germs from our hands to surfaces and showed the importance of hands cleaning,
The interactive sessions were complemented by the informative training videos, animation on handwashing featuring the well-known Turkmen characters Merjen and Mergen, and video on personal hygiene with famous local artist Ashir Dade produced in 2020 by UNICEF in partnership with the State Committee on TV, Radio Broadcasting and Cinematography of Turkmenistan. The schoolchildren were very excited to see a new video filmed by UNICEF, telling the story of Nazli, a 7-year-old girl showing proper handwashing techniques with water and soap. The videos and posters on hygiene practices were disseminated to primary and secondary schools countrywide.
I am very happy to be a part of this big event and have the opportunity to partner with UNICEF to deliver key messages on handwashing to schoolchildren,
Global Handwashing Day is about advocacy on handwashing and this year is celebrated under the slogan “Our Future is at Hand – Let’s Move Forward Together,” which calls for coordinated action on universal hand hygiene and healthy lifestyle. The global COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of handwashing for reducing the spread of disease.
During this critical time UNICEF is pleased to partner with the Ministry of Education and young SDG ambassadors to promote handwashing among schoolchildren in Turkmenistan. As we move beyond the pandemic to a new normal, it is crucial that we maintain momentum and continue our partnership to uphold universal hand hygiene
More information about Global Handwashing Day: https://globalhandwashing.org/global-handwashing-day/
