Jonglei marks International Global Hand Washing Day
October 12 2012 (BOR)-Jonglei state commemorated the 15th October
International Hand Washing Day in the state capital of Bor and in the Counties.
In Bor, the state governor, Kuol Juuk spoke about the important of sanitation to the people in their homes as indicator of the good health.
“You know the water diseases are contiguous; a lot of diseases can be prevented. There are germs all around us, but you can protect yourselves; they say prevention is better than cure,” Juuk advised while addressing the public assembled at the grounds of Bor A Primary School on Monday.
Twic East County was one of the counties in Jonglei that recognise the day where
messages of good health were cited.
Twic East community marked the fifth International Global Hand washing day at Wangulei Primary School in Nyuak Payam [district].
The theme of the celebration was “Help more children reach their 5th birthday”.
This was aimed at raising awareness about the importance of hand washing with soap as a simple but lifesaving habit.
The commissioner of Twic East county, Dau Akoi Jurkuch urged the heads of families, school children, local authorities and NGOs operating in Twic East to join efforts and promote hygiene and sanitation practices in the communities.
The function was organised by the county cducation office in partnership with development agencies: CARE South Sudan, Lutheran World Federation and Joint Aid Management.
About 377 people, including pupils, parents, teachers and community leaders attended the function according to the message sent to Sudan Tribune by the Twic East press secretary.
“Hygiene promotion in our communities has been a problem because they have not taken
it seriously. I therefore call upon each and every household to construct and use a latrine,” Akoi said.
He also noted that while most households do have access to soap, the number of people
who regularly wash their hands at the right times such as before eating, after using the
toilet, after cleaning children’s bottoms, before serving food and feeding children is very
low.
He therefore encouraged every member of the community to embrace good hand washing practices.
Pupils called for more support from parents, teachers and government to promote hygiene and sanitation for better growth, good health and high performance in class.
(ST)