Improving wash, sanitation and hygiene through education

In the southwestern Yemeni governorate of Lahj, 6,448 boys and girls in 20 schools are learning about the ways to better protect themselves with improved water, sanitation and hygiene practices in an education programme supported by UNICEF.

Rabab Al-Subaihi is one of the students at Al-Imam Al-Aozai secondary school in the Khoor Omairah area in Al Madaribah Wa Al Arah District, Lahj Governorate. She is learning about hygiene in a class with other students and practicing the concept using the hygiene kits provided by the programme.

“Before the education sessions, we had no idea about hygiene principles, but now we are aware of the dangers of open defecation and the risks of using water from an open well, we learned about cholera and other diseases,” says Rabab Al-Subaihi, an 11-year-old student in the fifth grade at the school in Khoor Omairah.

Hana’a Jawad Abd-Al-Habib, the mother of Rabab Al-Subaihi, says she is grateful for what her daughter and the rest of the students have learned through the programme at Al-Imam Al-Aozai school.

“Self-hygiene is very important, especially for school students. Schools are crowded and children touch their notebooks. This increases the possibility of contamination. Self-hygiene is critical to protect them from diseases,” says Hana Jawad.

Mohammed Hani, a 13-year-old student in the sixth grade at Al-Imam Al-Aozai school, is one of the children who attended the programme and received a hygiene kit. Mohammed is practicing brushing his teeth after receiving instructions from his teacher during the programme.

“This is our first time receiving a hygiene kit, and it includes soap bars, towels, and a nail clipper,” says Mohammed Hani. “The education programme helped us a lot; we learned new things and benefited greatly from the hygiene kits we received,” adds Mohammed.

Ali Abdullah Ahmed, a science teacher at the school says the students are now equipped with the right information and they learned the importance of practicing personal hygiene.

“After the educational sessions, the students were able to answer hygiene-related questions that they couldn't answer before,” says Ali Abdullah.

A group of female students finished one of the programme sessions and received hygiene kits at Al-Imam Al-Aozai school.

“The education sessions continue even after the kit distribution is over. We usually remind the students every Thursday about the importance of personal hygiene. Yet, we face a significant difficulty since most students come from low-income families who can't afford a soap bar. We hope the Hygiene Kit distribution can continue throughout the year to ensure the students can continue practicing hygiene daily,” says Helmi Badr Ali Abdo,  the 51-year-old school principal at Al-Imam Al-Aozai School in Al Madaribh & Al-Ara district, Lahj Governorate.

The programme is funded by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre.