Water Hygiene Education ~Puppet Show~

JEN is constructing wells and toilet facilities in schools, and conduct hygiene education for school children to prevent water-born diseases, all in line with the aim to improve the water hygiene environment of the Sudanese repatriates in South Sudan. This time, we will take the opportunity to explain our hygiene education program.

In Japan and other so-called developed countries, we understand why washing hands after using the bathroom is important. It is now a normal custom for anyone to wash their hands. However, this does not apply to the Sudanese repatriate children, who have never received proper hygiene education. We start from zero- first we explain why we must use toilet facilities.

When we explain hygiene, sometimes the effect is not maximized by just talking and explaining. In Kajo-keji County, JEN is carrying out Hygiene Education in primary schools, where we use different tools to pass on the Hygiene massage to young school children. Puppetry is one of the tools that JEN Sudan has being using since 2007.

What is so special about a “puppet show”?
-It is the puppets (third person) playing the role.
-And thus the children can observe the play rather objectively.

If it were real people who did a play, it bears the risk of being too realistic. It is better to have puppets convey the message, so that the audience – young children – can take in the message easily. They reflect on their daily lives, they see themselves with the puppets.

The school children watch the puppet show with great attention. Speaking to one of the pupils in the school after the show, she said “I am going to tell mommy what I watched”. We sincerely hope that the knowledge spreads, from mouth to mouth, and in the end improve the sanitation of the whole community.