A Race to the Finish-Handwashing Workshops for 700 Kids

When you think of October 15th, what comes to your mind? Is your first thought Global Handwashing Day? Really? Mine too! Incredible how we all think alike.

This year Kirstin and I (who happened to be in town writing her practicum for her master's degree) ran workshops educating students at Lycée Rialé about proper handwashing techniques. I mentioned to my principal that morning that instead of having math class I would host a lesson on handwashing, and instead of saying no, the response he gave was Dylan, you have 3 hours, hit as many classes as you can.


The race was on. Armed with 2 buckets, a handwashing plastic kettle, and two different types of soap, Kirstin and I managed to hit 7 different classes, each with class sizes of 100 plus students. And oh what a time it was. Students cheered their classmates washing their hands, cringed when water was accidently poured on them, and laughed every single time the word "diaorrhea" was mentioned.


Every single workshop went like this-I would present myself first, Monsieur Dylan, and then Madame Kirstin (Who students now call Madame Dylan). We joked a little bit about her ability to speak Bissa (about 1/4 of my students are of the Bissa ethnic group) and then dived straight in to the art of handwashing and its importance. We discussed the how and the why of handwashing, like why diarrhea is the number one killer of children under 5 in Burkina Faso and how simple it is to prevent it: use soap, water (cleanliness of water is not so important as long as soap is used), scrub for 2 minutes, and then rinse.


Homework for the weekend was for each student to return home and inform their families on the day's material. After asking my 2 math classes this week I found out that apparently a few students actually did-success!

While we were not able to hit every single class due to time constraints, I feel that 700 kids in one day is a pretty decent number. Here's hoping that the knowledge passes! I for one, will not eat unless the people I am eating with wash their hands. It gives me the chance to inform folks on a personal level about the importance of handwashing, especially given that most people eat with their hands in Burkina Faso.