It is said that behaviors are the end results of a prevailing story in one’s mind. Therefore, to effect behavioral change in our children and the community at large, there is the need to inspire them and impact their lives.

Kenya Water for Health Organization (KWAHO), in partnership with Siemens Stiftung fronted a Global Hand washing Day build up activity on 12th October dubbed as “The WASH fair” with an objective to encourage and raise the self-esteem of school going children and the community when creating awareness and demonstrating understanding on the importance of good hand washing and general hygiene practice.

The fair is meant to effect behavioral change in school going children and the community through the sensitization of 4 hygiene practices: Proper use of sanitation facility, Hand washing, living in clean environments and Safe drinking water. It leans on a social marketing strategy oriented towards creative performances such as songs and dance as they are effective means for changing behavior and learning and offer the participants an opportunity to test out solutions within a safe environment and can lead to a creative and more robust understanding of multi-stakeholder situations.

The event is held in different regions with tough hygiene challenges each year to push for the agenda of leaving no one behind and calls for the participation of all interested persons including those with disability to bridge hygiene disparities and provide them with an opportunity to design. test and replicate creative and cost-effective ways that offer effective hand washing and general hygiene promotion and contributes to prevention of communicable diseases that cause negative implications in their health, education or even economic outcomes.

Prior to this event, KWAHO engages schools and the community health volunteers with effective training that focuses on strengthening the basics of proper hand washing and general hygiene using participatory approaches with hands on demonstrations and experiments. Afterwards, they are challenged to come up with innovative ways to pass across what they learn to their peers and the rest of the community at large.

This year’s fair themed “clean hands for all” saw participation of 15 primary schools and Community Health Volunteers from Maragua, Ngoliba and Githembe areas in Murang’a county. The event was graced with thrilling and outstanding songs (contemporary and folk),poems, dance and role play performances with messages that put emphasis on washing hands regularly to avoid germs and general good hygiene practices. Also, there were presentations on innovations where participants showcased unique hand washing inventions modeled to serve them in schools and homes such as tippy taps, dispensable soaps and detergents.

Best of all, was seeing the boys in the Menstrual Hygiene booth pledging to break the Menstrual silence, fighting against period stigma and ending the period shame after an exciting learning session with the Menstrual Hygiene Trainers!
It was such a delight to see the children re-telling the key lessons learnt during the hygiene training as if they were now a regular part of their lives