This year marks the 5th year of Global Handwashing Day. This is celebrated every October 15 to promote handwashing by soap, which has been proven to be most and inexpensive way to prevent diarrhea.
There are 5 critical moments that you NEED to wash your hands:
- before eating
- before handling food
- after using the toilet
- after handling pets
- after playtime
This year, Safeguard is once again on the front line in celebration of Global handwashing day. To better promote handwashing with soap after playtime (one of the critical moments), Safeguard donated 5 playgrounds with handwashing station, the one in Sitio Una Taguig being the first.
Mr. Chad Sotelo, Country Marketing Manager for Safeguard, explains, “Outdoor play is an enjoyable activity for children but it is also important in their development.” However, based on a recent study, many mothers prevent their children from playing outdoors because they are worried about their children’s safety. Furthermore, 75 percent of children play on the streets while only 3 percent play on a public playground.
“Through the donation of these playgrounds, Safeguard wants to enable children to play in an environment safe from harm and disease-causing germs,” says Mr. Sotelo. In order to ensure that the playgrounds are sustainable and safe, Safeguard partnered with play experts Play Pilipinas.
“We at Play Pilipinas believe that every child should be given the chance to play, and to play in a safe and sound environment. Our advocacy is to provide low-cost, sustainable, and child-safe playgrounds for Filipino children. We are happy to have a partner in Safeguard that ensures kids will also have immediate access to soap and water after playing,” says Ms. Sigrid Perez, co-founder of Play Pilipinas.
Mr. Paul Perez, who co-founded Play Pilipinas with Sigrid, explains that the design of the playground differs per site, reflecting the character of the city. “For Taguig, we tried to mirror the emerging high-rises and so the playground has high and low spaces as well,” added Mr. Perez.
This new playground at Sitio Una, and 4 others to come, will represent not only the past 5 years of Global Handwashing Day, but also Safeguard’s continued commitment to promote proper hygiene and health education for many more years to come. “Handwashing education is and will continue to be the primary advocacy of Safeguard – not just on October 15, but every single day,” says Mr. Sotelo. Together with partners UNICEF and Fit for School, Procter & Gamble, through Safeguard, has reached over a million children in ten provinces in the country, teaching them the lifesaving habit of handwashing with soap.
Safeguard invites everyone to join our 5th year of Global Handwashing Day in the Philippines. Join the celebration by tweeting with the hashtag #Happy5thGHD. Watch out for more activities from Safeguard in the coming weeks. But, most importantly, don’t forget to wash your hands
