How Limburg and African children together learn about hand washing
Thanks to an initiative of Prof. Dr. Edward Huizenga, children in Kenya, Uganda, India, Vietnam and the Netherlands are learning together how to wash their hands to prevent infectious diseases that would otherwise prevent them from attending school. For this social impact program called Handwashing Angels, Huizenga recently received the prestigious 2024 Beta Sigma Gamma Business Achievement Award.
The importance of hand hygiene
Hand washing with soap stands as one of the simplest methods to keep children healthy. Hand hygiene also ranks as a prioritized topic on public health agendas worldwide. 900 million children either have limited or no access to handwashing services at their schools, and a staggering 47% of schools globally lack handwashing facilities with soap and water. Consequently, 1 in 4 children falls ill and misses school.
Handwashing Angels
Huizenga started Hand Washing Angels in Kenya in 2019 with a school in Bondo with volunteers and the children's cartoon story of Luna and the Magical Blue Foam. Meanwhile, the program has also implemented projects with Kindante in the Netherlands. Here, too, hand washing is not a matter of course. So a survey was conducted among the children: when do you forget to wash your hands? Thus, hundreds of children in the classrooms learned the effect of clean hands.
What is delightful, is that children from Kindante connect with those in Kenya via livestreams. It is remarkable to witness 10-year-old children discussing their experiences during COVID. Moreover, they collaborate via TikTok to create a dance and a song to perform while washing hands. Did you know that you should also thoroughly wash your thumb and wrist?
Also read
-
Discrimination makes women want to work less
Recent research by scientists at Maastricht University in the Netherlands and Aarhus University in Denmark shines a new light on the gender pay gap. Discrimination makes women want to work fewer hours.
-
ICC@M at Maastricht University: competing with the best, shaping the future
Roy Broersma, Academic Director of ICC@M, bridges academia and business, enhancing Maastricht University’s impact. He aims to strengthen regional ties, foster bold ideas, and prepare students for real-world challenges.
-
A global perspective, a personal mission: Alumnus Samuel Fung joins SBE’s International Advisory Board
With nearly 30 years of international leadership experience, SBE alumnus Samuel Fung brings a powerful combination of global industry insight and personal passion for education to the School’s International Advisory Board. In this interview, Samuel shares what inspired him to join the board, how his...
