Global Handwashing Day 2015 at Tipas Elementary School

October 15, 2015 marked the 8th year of Global Handwashing Day (GHD), an event celebrated around the world. The event was founded by the Global Private-Public Partnership for Handwashing in 2008 and it aims to spread awareness of the importance of handwashing with soap. If you have been following my blog for a while now, you may have noticed that I have already featured GHD celebrations in the past years. Thanks to Safeguard and P&G for making me a part of their celebration every year.

This year's local theme, Linis Lusog sa Global Handwashing Day, focused on proper handwashing with soap as a cost-effective way to prevent deadly diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhea. The event was celebrated simultaneously in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao. In Manila, it was held at the Tipas Elementary School. Kids have always been part of each GHD celebration because they are the usual victims of deadly diseases. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 13 children die of diarrhea everyday while an estimated 37 children under age 5 die from pneumonia everyday. Sad fact is, these two diseases can be prevented by simple handwashing alone.

The kids of Tipas Elementary School were taught proper handwashing that day through a fun scavenger hunt. They searched through different locations to collect stickers of "germs" that were planted under toys, books, and household items.

A UV light revealed that an invisible lotion was unknowingly applied onn their skin while they searched for the sticker thoughout the locations. This lotion stimulated the invisible, disease-causing germs from everyday items.

After the scavenger hunt, the kids were then led to the handwashing stations where they washed their hands with water and Safeguard.  For close to 50 years in the Philippines, Safeguard continues to be a champion of family health. Its improved Triple Shield technology with patented Zinc Pyrithione (ZPT) delivers superior protection against disease-causing germs. New Safeguard not only provides protection against more types of germs but also helps reduce regrowth in between washes.

P&G, through Safeguard, and UNICEF aims to further improve health by implementing the Water, Sanitation, and Hygeine (WASH) program in more schools. Through this program, more people in the rural areas will be informed about hygiene education that will definitely help in reducing the number of deaths brought about by disease-causing germs.

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