Hygiene!

Your favorite blogger is now 27 years old. What did I do for my birthday you ask? I continued with a series of hygiene trainings, of course! The life of a Peace Corps volunteer. :) More on my birthday celebrations later...

A while back the U.S. military came to Suriname to provide cost free medical procedures and construction projects. They brought hundreds of toiletry packets that they gave to Peace Corps that included a hand towel, wash cloth, tooth brush, tooth paste, comb, brush, band-aids, etc. I requested some for our village. Instead of simply giving handouts, I thought this was a great opportunity to hold a training. As a health volunteer I have done a lot with HIV/AIDS but not a lot with hygiene and sanitation (at least, not officially). I showed the packs to my polic clinic nurse Lenda and asked what she thought. She currently has two nursing interns doing their field work here. Part of their requirements is to hold a community training. Perfect! Lenda and I met with the student to go over the information that should be covered. I also provided visual aides and activity ideas. Lenda thought the demographic who would benefit the most from a hygiene training was pregnant women and mothers with babies. She invited women from my village and the two other villages that our poli clinic covers. Thirty-one women showed up. Two-thirds of them had to travel by boat to attend. It was very successful!

A young mother, Ornella, washing her hands at a Durotank at the end of the training

A young mother and Lenda showing everyone what was inside the hygiene packets provided by the U.S. military

Lenda also wanted to go into the schools with the hygiene lesson. The first lesson given to mothers was done in Saramaccan and Sranan Tongo, mixed. In the schools, the nurses must speak Dutch. We evaluated what went well and what did not go well with the first lesson and came up with another lesson plan, targeted towards youth. This second training went even smoother. The nursing student did a wonderful job and I look forward to her future work. Lenda is very strict about anything we do here in my village (healthwise) we must do in the other villages that the poli clinic is responsible for. So, next week we will be traveling to a nearby village to hold the same hygiene lesson in their school.

"Personal Hygiene: What is personal hygiene?" (in Dutch)

Discussing when it is necessary to wash one's hands with soap

Click here to see more pictures.