Importance handwashing (II)
Keeping hands clean is one of the important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading infections to others.
Learn from some of our readers why it is now even more important to wash hands regularly with soap under running water.
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Princess Emmanuella Naa Akuyea Addy,
10 years,
Aburi, Eastern Region.
I don't wash my hands often at home because I don't go anywhere.
But when I step out of the door, I make sure I wash my hands with soap under running water when I come back.
I do this because I don't want to get ill from germs and infections such as the deadly coronavirus.
In school, our teachers said we would stay healthy if we washed our hands regularly with soap under running water.
That was why we had two big buckets of water to wash our hands after sweeping the compound, visiting the washroom, before and after break in order to go to the classroom with clean hands.
Samuel Ayitey Yaw,
12 years,
Abokobi, Accra.
Our teachers taught us how to properly wash our hands with soap under running water when we heard about the deadly Ebola virus some years back.
Since that time, I have been washing my hands to prevent being attacked by germs which we can’t see with our naked eyes.
At school, I washed my hands with soap under running water as soon as I returned from break or from playing football.
Sometimes when the soap provided by the school finished, I went round asking for water to wash my hands from my friends whose parents gave them liquid soap in small bottles to carry in their bags. This is because we
know the importance of washing our hands with soap and under running water.
Since COVID-19, I wash my hands with soap under running water and sometimes I use alcohol-based hand sanitisers as well.
Phoebe Adu,
14 years, Kasoa, Central Region.
I have always loved the idea of hand washing ever since I learned in school that washing the hands with soap and under water would kill a lot of germs.
Because I know I can stay healthy when I wash my hands regularly, I don’t joke with it at all.
In school, we had big Veronica buckets and they were positioned in such a way that, one would never miss it.
I washed my hands regularly and also urged some of my friends who did not like doing it to wash their hands too.
Now, because I know there is a danger out there, I wash my hands more than ever to protect myself against COVID-19 without any laziness at all.
Maxwell Gbedema,
10 years,
Domeabra, Greater Accra Region.
My school didn’t have any buckets of water and soap for hand washing but our teachers had told our parents to be giving us money for ‘sachet water’ so we could wash our hands regularly.
After playing ball, my hands become dirty and because I know the importance of washing the hands with soap and water, I go to the food vendors to ask for soap to wash my hands with my ‘sachet’ water before I return to the classroom.
Since we were asked to stay home, I hardly go out but anytime I do, I make sure I wash my hands with soap under running water so I don’t get infected with the disease which has killed a lot of people.
Jacob Ametepe,
11 years,
Papaasi, Awutu Senya.
I don’t have any problems with washing my hands with soap under running water since I am already used to it as a result of all the education I have received from both the school and home.
I have become so used to washing my hands regularly to the extent that I feel uneasy when I return from break and have no water and soap to wash my hands.
At home, I use hand sanitisers more and wash my hands when I feel like washing them.
Also, when I come home from outside I wash my hands with soap under running water thoroughly.
Beryl Korantemaa Asamoah,
Seven years,
Ho, Volta Region.
Washing the hands with soap under running water is a good practice which will prevent germs from staying on our bodies. I advise children not to feel lazy about it.
Ever since my mother and teachers told me about how washing the hands prevented deadly infections, I wash my hands all the time.
When I was in school, I washed my hands before taking my snack, before and after eating, after visiting the washroom and also, after Nature's Walk around the school compound to keep fit.
The first thing I did when I return from school was to first wash my hands before doing anything else.
At home, anytime I return to the house after going somewhere, I wash my hands. Washing the hands is good and even if coronavirus goes, I will continue to wash my hands because I am now used to it.
Marilyn Agyeiwa Adjei,
Seven years,
Ho, Volta Region.
We had Veronica buckets in our classrooms so that when we returned from the washrooms and lunch we could wash our hands.
Because of this practice, as soon as I got home from school, I washed my hands before I even removed my school uniform.
My mother and teachers say that if I wash my hands regularly, I will be protected from many infections, including COVID-19, so I always make sure I wash my hands with soap under running water.