Raho Swachh Jiyo Mast
Education on sanitation helps reduce preventable diseases in children under five.
Over 29,000 children under the age of five die each day from preventable diseases across the globe. Water, sanitation and hygiene-related diseases continue to be among the leading causes of death and suffering among children around the world.
The Raho Swacch, Jiyo Mast project aimed to reduce the incidence of preventable diseases in children under five with meaningful education on sanitation and hygiene. To change knowledge, attitudes and practices, the project promoted four principles of toilet use:
• Use the toilet
• Wear slippers to the toilet
• Wash hands with soap and water
• Pour water after using the toilet
Kiran Jha saw the excitement around the Raho Swacch, Jiyo Mast project. She decided to follow the children to the activity workshop one day. She saw children making 'soapy threads' - little garlands made out of soap and thread - which they could carry to the toilet. She used this opportunity to start making soapy threads at home and supplying them to all the members of her community. Her soapy threads are high in demand.
Urban Slums in Kolkata, West Bengal.
The project influenced approximately 50,000 children.
Participants showed upto 1.6 times greater gains in positive WASH attitudes than non-participants.
34% more children wore sandals consistently when the went to defecate than before the program.
27% more children washed their hands consistently after defecation than before the program.
A study conducted 12 months after the completion of the program, showed that children who attended the program remembered the lessons that they learned and talked extensively about them with their families, neighbors and friends, thus acting as agents of change in the community.
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