Chennai: Sujatha* is a ‘toilet advocate’ and does not miss out classes due to illness. A student of government school in Thiruvallur, she did not have adequate sanitation facilities then and now she has, thanks to the team behind it.
Multiple studies conducted among school children of varying background prove that they had access to water for hand-washing but the availability of liquids or soaps was questionable, leading to unsafe practices.
In India, studies state that 20 per cent of the child mortality cases are caused due to water-borne diseases – diarrhea and acute respiratory infections (ARI) like pneumonia. Close to 46 per cent households practice open defecation and the rate is up to 80 per cent in a few districts.
It may be noted that a few districts in the State witnessed acute diarrhea outbreak and there was early pneumonia attack last year. It is evident that communicable diseases are prone to spread faster through hands.
Given the situation, Mary Anne Charity Trust, that works in several capacities in health sector, in collaboration with Green Gold Animation and UBS Optimus Foundation formulated the programme ‘Play-based WASH curricula’ using Chhota Bheem.
“Between 2017 and 2018, we conducted a pilot study to assess the hygiene practices among students of 30 Thiruvallur government schools,” said trust’s executive director Cyril Alexander.
The sample size was 2,614 and the researchers divided them into three arms: control group, Bheem group (children were exposed to games through the cartoon and stories) and analog group (exposure to games without cartoon narrative). With the study, the teachers of the school and the researchers witnessed healthy trend among the second group as the sanitation techniques was taught through songs and games.
Premalatha L, project manager of the trust, stated that the knowledge of washing hands with soap increased whenever they used the toilet and they recognised that soap is required to wash off the germs.
“Subsequently, the children began to understand the importance of having a separate bathroom for every household. The children were hailing from places that had common facility and when they realised the need, the situation witnessed a gradual change,” she added.
One such student is Sujatha, who pestered her parents to build a toilet and did not want to defecate in open fields.
“The family saved money to construct one and her attendance has gradually improved. It is not just an one-off incident. The parents, during meeting teachers, interacted with each other and realised how open defecation impacts the health of the children,” added Premalatha.
While the researchers have measured the impact of success, they are training the trainers to take the message across different lengths and breadths in Tamilnadu. So far, they have trained 450 teachers.
(* Name changed on request)