Infection Control: Soap for Primary School

I am conducting an Infection Control train the trainer course in an elementary school in Togo, W. Africa as part of an Independent Learning Project.  The training will take place at Ecole Premiere Public Dgorerou Siou which is a primary school with 280 students that is located in a rural area in the Kara region of Togo.

Respiratory and diarrheal diseases cause more than 6 million deaths per year in children under 5 years old in West Africa.  The best way to prevent these illnesses is through hand washing with soap and water.  The elementary school in which I am conducting this program has only one hand washing facility and no soap.  I would like to collect donations for soap, to build 2 more hand washing facilities, and for curriculum for students and teachers. 

The training will take place in mid-February 2014.  The teachers are currently collecting data such as school absences related to diarrheal and respiratory illnesses.  After the training, the same data will be collected so we will be able to see the benefits of the training.  Students will have learned healthy habits for life.

This project  impacts childrens' lives by directly placing resources in the hands of students and teachers.  It is sustainable since it is a train -the-trainer course so health knowledge and resources will be given to teachers that can be used over and over again.