Nasautoka Primary School Leads the Way in School Hygiene in Fiji

Students from Nasautoka Primary School. © UNICEF Pacific/2014/Hing

WAINIBUKA, FIJI – Tiled floors, a mirror and a washbasin with soap. These are the basic ingredients for a school bathroom. But for students of Nasautoka Primary School and many other schools in Fiji, these ingredients and facilities are not common place. 

The lack of hygiene facilities at many schools throughout Fiji account for increased rates of absenteeism and illness among students and teachers. “Most of the students used to get very sick”, says Head Teacher, Kasanita Cakacaka. Unsafe water and poor sanitation account for nutritional deficiencies, diarrhoea, worm infestations, respiratory infections, skin and eye infections. These preventable diseases lead to poor attendance or attention at school and hindering many children’s ability to learn, grow and develop.

Solomon Island youth to use radio to save lives

Youths and WASH stakeholders from various organizations
© UNICEF Pacific/2014/ATahu

In early March 2014, 6 youth from the Solomon Islands were trained to produce an interactive radio show to engage with other youth around this Pacific island nation and promote awareness and adoption of life saving key family practices focusing on water, sanitation, hygiene, health, child protection and education.

The Truth About Hand Washing!

The uncomfortable truth about hand washing is that not everybody comes clean about it.

Read October's youth feature in Mailife Magazine (also published in Fiji Times October 20th) that uncovers some gruesome realities of hand washing practices in schools and in public places in Suva, Fiji.

This article was written by UNICEF Youth Mediactivists Sera Wilson (18), Jone Maiwiriwiri (19) and illustrated by Lino Lionel Colaitiniyara (17).

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Celebration of Global hand Washing Day ( GHWD) in Kiribati: The Power is in your hands, action song competition:

The Global Hand Washing Day 15 October, 2013 celebration was held at the KNYC Maneaba in Bairiki included an action song competition: Based on the guidance to display proper hand washing, groups of students (Primary School) from 11 schools sang loudly for everyone to hear about the need to wash hands with soap at critical times in order to stay healthy, demonstrating proper hand washing with buckets, water and soap. Action songs were prepared by the teachers and students for demonstrating proper hand washing with soap at critical times by highlighting the theme, “Power is in your hands” and in action song competition Temanoku School won the first prize while Dai Nippon school came second and Abaunamou school coming in third.

Celebration of Global hand Washing Day ( GHWD) in Kiribati: The Power is in your hands!

The Global Hand Washing Day 15 October, 2013 celebration was held at the KNYC Maneaba in Bairiki. The programme was organized under the leadership of MPWU and MOH through joint partnership with MoE, MELAD, MISA, UNICEF, SMEC and KAP II. It was a combined and integrated effort of the GHWD celebration committee from government and WASH partners, to make the day a very meaningful and memorable. The GHWD programme is organized for the second time in Kiribati but for the first time through partnership with government and WASH partners. The Kiriwatsan I has taken initial coordination role among partners for the celebration .