Make kids unstoppable by stopping the spread of sickness

With the recent outbreaks of dangerous diseases such as the 2019 novel coronavirus, measles, and polio threatening everyone’s safety and well-being, especially that of kids, schools become the parents’ biggest ally in caring for and protecting them.

To make kids unstoppable in learning and realizing their potential, we have to make sure that we do as much as we can to keep them away from health risks. “One out of two schools are not even meeting the minimum standards of sanitation,” said Ed Sunico, the Vice President for Sustainable Business and Communications for Unilever Philippines. “We really need to intervene.”

Make a list, check it twice

Agreeing with the need for safe and clean schools for kids, Domex Brand Manager Josh Yeo stressed that proper sanitation is a right and not a privilege. The best way to keep track if facilities have been sanitized thoroughly is for schools to use daily schedules and checklists.

The checklists should include sections on proper cleaning equipment and sanitizing agents to ensure that cleaning is easier and that it can be done as often as needed. The use of checklists also makes it easier to ensure that facilities are complete with equipment like trash bins, water bucket, and dipper (tabo).

Knowing is half the battle

Through the #TogetherWeAreUnstoppable campaign, Domex Philippines has partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to encourage adoption of the WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) in Schools program.

WASH in Schools provides information and training of school staff to implement good sanitation and hygiene measures. Education greatly helps in doing away with practices that may bring contamination, like using color-coded cleaning cloths for different purposes, and reminders for everyone to always keep washing their hands.

Join the unstoppable movement

Keeping clean is easier when you’re not doing it alone. School staff and teachers should work closely with students and parents through parent-teacher conferences or exchange of feedback to find ways to continue cleanliness from home to school and back.

Around 84% of schoolteachers and school nurses say toilet-related health issues greatly increase the number of sick days taken by students. When everyone works together for sanitation, these incidents can be lessened. When kids can experience cleanliness at home and school, then it becomes second nature to them, something they expect and strive for, even outside these establishments.

Domex believes that #TogetherWeAreUnstoppable and pledges to provide access to usable, clean, and safe toilets for 7 million Filipino school children by 2021. They launched the Eskwelahang Unstoppable Awards to provide incentives and rewards for schools that best implement and reinforce the WASH in Schools program for their students through a DepEd monitoring and rating system.

The Eskwelahang Unstoppable Awards culminates on World Toilet Day on November 19 where the Best School division and the Most Improved School from each division will be recognized. Hopefully, the Domex #TogetherWeAreUnstoppable movement becomes a call not just for schools to heed, but for all Filipinos to follow.