Pupils in Maguindanao town learn proper hand washing

SOUTH UPI, Maguindanao– Some 700 pupils, majority of them members ofTeduray, from a remote village here were taught the proper hand washing.The demonstration, led by staff of the Rural Health Unit (RHU) in South Upi and personnel of ACF International, was held inside the Kuya Elementary School (KES) in Barangay Kuya, one of the barangays where cases of malnutrition are high. Alvin Antallan,KES teacher in-charge, said the pupils were taught the ‘do-it-yourself’ washing of hands.Their hands were wet, lathered, scrubbed, rinsed, and then dried. Rommel Erece, RHU sanitary inspector, saidproper hand washing could help reduce the spread of diarrhea and respiratory illnesses, two of the common diseases in Barangay Kuya and other poorest villages in South Upi.Antallan said majority of their pupils do not know even the basics in hand washing as many of them do not have faucets and toilets in their houses. The school, Antallan explained, is the second highest number of severely wasted or malnourished children in the whole town of Upi. Children who were severely wasted look thin and almost elderly.Erede said severe wasting is caused by too much poverty. Erece said at least 30 percent of the total households in Barangay Kuya do not have sanitary toilets and dumping pit for their garbage.