Global Handwashing Day

If we're friends on Facebook, you probably know by now how great the Global Handwashing Day festivities went in my community.  After months and months of stressful planning and not so promising preparations, we did it!!  The community and kids had a blast and we were even on the radio.  Woohoo!  I guess what they say is true...hard work really does pay off!

Village children dancing during GHD celebration 2013.

The day was complete with dancers who composed and sang a song about hand washing, which they danced to tirelessly until members of the audience got up to join them in all the fun.  Next up was a drama performed by the secondary  school GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) Club, where they acted out scenes of a family with very poor hand hygiene, a child dying from the effects of her family's unhygienic practices, and a hygiene class where families were taught various ways in which the spread of hand hygiene related illnesses and child deaths can be prevented.

Of course the day wouldn't have been complete without Keza (me) making a speech in the local language, which always turns out to be
another form of entertainment for the people present.  They always seem to get a kick out of the fact that I can communicate in this language (which btw no other country in the world uses).  I read most of my speech from a piece of paper that was translated just hours before, but all in all, I'll say I did pretty good!  Even if I didn't understand everything I was saying lol

To close out the day and reach out to the children who were there to help us celebrate, we set up various activity stations and turned our health center into a sort of fair grounds, complete with games, prizes, and hundreds of smiling faces!  We had nearly 300 people there to celebrate with us, including representives from Rwanda TV, and Nyagatare Radio Station.  It was a beautiful day of hand washing and not only was it fun, but it got the community excited about washing their hands!! Among the prizes were hand  soap and even hand washing stations!  Also, many participants were able to take home a Global Handwashing Day t-shirt which I have noticed were a big hit; (and I chuckle as I say this) it seems like some of them haven't taken the shirt off since they got it last week!

Photos and videos are to come (whenever I am able to get my hands on a good internet connection) so stay tuned!!

Love and Peace Corps,
Dametreea