Soap to Hope: Personal Hygiene Action

Written by Tran Van Hao – Health Project Assistant and Le Thi Ngan – Education Project Assistant, Cam Thuy ADP

“I used to think that it was okay to wash my hands with just water when I gave my son a bath,” said Mr Truong Van Tuan, a father from Cam Thuy, a mountainous district in Thanh Hoa province. “But now I’ve learned that our hands aren’t clean unless we use soap and water.”

Mr Tuan was speaking after attending a training course on personal hygiene held at his son’s kindergarten. World Vision’s Cam Thuy Area Development Programme (ADP) organised the course in cooperation with local authorities.

"We didn’t know before that lots of diseases are spread by dirty hands, as we were told today."

Another parent who joined the course, Mrs Do Thi Uyen, said, “My family is very poor, so my husband and I spend most of our time earning money for our children’s food and clothes. We didn’t know before that lots of diseases are spread by dirty hands, as we were told today.”

Through discussions with the ADP’s health staff, both parents and their children learned how important hand washing is and how poor personal hygiene can spread infectious diseases. The course participants were taught six steps to wash their hands properly and given soap and cloths to help them do so at school and at home.

Pham Thuy Trang, a five-year-old girl, said, “The course has been fun and I’ll keep my hands clean from now on. I’ll also tell my classmates to do the same.”

Health club members, mothers and caregivers of children under five joined the competition on child nutrition, child and maternal health.

Alongside the training, Cam Thuy ADP held a competition on child nutrition and child and maternal health for health club members and other mothers and caregivers of children under five. The event saw 1,500 people, including those from ethnic minority groups, attending the events.

“We’re so happy because our club has got to the final round of the competition,” commented Ha Thi Quan, head of the Cam Phu community health club. “Whether we win or lose, it will be a chance for us to learn from other clubs.”

After the Cam Ngoc community club won the first prize, its head Mrs Ha Thi Van said, “This award is a result of our club’s hard work. It also reminds us to do more to raise awareness of nutrition and healthcare among local mothers and children.”