Puppet Show in Mugwo Payam 2014

Puppet show is one of the approaches JEN uses in terms of hygiene promotion. It helps to draw audience’s attention such as the students and community members. They can be more interested to listen to the hygiene messages that delivered by the puppet characters. The characters are those people performing the show.

The characters always have their own names, which can be familiar to the audience and are sometimes named funny, like Polondoro (lazy person), Kodomgbe (active and hygienic/clean person), Ganya (respective Chief of the area) and Lokoronyo (unhygienic/dirty person). Since such familiar names are used, the audience are keen to watch what the characters would say.

The puppet show performed respectively in the five (5) primary schools of Mugwo Payam such as Payawa, Alero, Dodo, Longamere and Undukori. The show presents the messages to the students, such as to wash hands before and after eating etc. and to give ORS (oral rehydration salts/solution) to a person suffering from diarrhoea

[The puppetry show performance at Dodo primary school. ]



[The show performed at Loggo primary school (Archive. in different Payam).]



Puppet dolls always surprise people. When it is the first time for the students and community members to see the puppet dolls, they fear and tend to run away (Even the adults!). Hence, before we perform the show, the use of the puppet dolls has to be well-explained to the audience and we need to encourage them to come to the show.

Puppetry show makes the hygiene messages unforgettable to the audience because it can be great entertainment for those living in villages where there is little entertainment, otherwise. Therefore, the students always talk about it at home with their parents after participating in the show.

This activity is interesting and effective, which can easily change the community behaviours from bad hygiene practices to good hygiene practices. In fact, it is observed that community members have begun to make a local hand washing facility and use it regularly. And even they started to build their own latrines and defecate in it. 

Written by: Hygiene Promoter, Bejur Paul Anthony



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