Reaction to Mobile Cinema

In our last column, we introduced how the Mobile Cinema Program, a part of our hygiene education initiative, changed the attitude and behavior of students.  We would like to share how the students and community responded to this program.   
In order to promote sanitation and hygiene education and awareness among elementary school children, JEN, funded by Japan Platform, began the Mobile Cinema Program.  In June, August and September, films promoting good hygiene practices were shown in schools and surrounding communities. The response was very positive and not only school children, but also many community members of all ages, gathered to watch the films.




When JEN’s local staff visited the school again for the preparation of next showing, this is what they saw. 
A seven-year-old was about to eat an apple without washing their hands, but an eight-year-old walks up to them and says, “You shouldn’t eat that apple before washing it.  Mina (the heroine of the film) says you will get sick if you eat fruit without washing it.”  It is obvious that these children were influenced by Mobile Cinema.

On a different day, a 64 year old man, who had come to see the film three times already, said, “When I eat, I always remember Mina. She speaks to me and reminds me to wash my hands”.  The message of hygiene education in the films are, without a doubt, reaching the school children as well as community members, and are helping them make better life choices.

The region that JEN is implementing the project in has very limited access to entertainment and most of residents have never seen a movie.  Under such circumstances, Mobile Cinema has become an effective tool, offering both entertainment and hygiene education at the same time. 

Though the Mobile Cinema Project is finished for the year, JEN is planning to implement the project again next year in different schools and communities.  Through this initiative, JEN will continue to send messages of hygiene education and advocate for the improved health of the children and community residents of the target regions.

【JEN is now accepting donations. Your help would be very much appreciated.
DONATE here】