Learning good hygiene & sanitation at SDC

Within the frame of our rehabilitation project conducted at the Social Development Center (SDC) in Bacolod, our team has been devoting increasing time and energy to help the local staff building a safer and healthier environment and a particular focus has been set on nutrition and sanitation. In partnership with the City of Bacolod, toilets and shower rooms are now under construction at the center. Thanks to the support of Fondation Ensemble and HOST-NGO’s fundraising campaigns, the dorms will also soon be renovated and the kitchen should follow. As part of our waste and water management program implemented at the SDC, Annie D., HOST-NGO volunteer specialized in education and childcare, has been conducting a mission of two weeks in June, which emphasized on addressing the children’s hygiene issues and offering training support to the local team around four topics: hygiene & sanitation awareness, education & social development, waste management, as well as team building and training.

 Related to hygiene and sanitation, the overall objective was to encourage a healthy daily behaviour to prevent common diseases (such as food-borne and water-borne diseases). Several activities were organized by our volunteer along with the three UNO-R social workers trainees and the SDC team on that topic. The design of posters, games, drawings, and other recreational activities helped raising the children’s awareness on the importance of personal hygiene and sanitizing. 

To complement this thematic, another set of activities was proposed to the children on issues related to waste management and recycling: what are the different types of waste, how can we collect and dispose of waste, how can we reuse waste, etc. The children designed posters representing the different forms of organic and non-organic waste and the processing and sorting of these waste items. For instance, the children learnt what kind of waste can be transformed as fertilizer and can be used in the garden.

Finally, our HOST-NGO volunteer focused on providing the street children, who are SDC’s most vulnerable children in terms of lack of education and childcare, with educational activities dedicated to promote their individual development. Activities such as origami, drawing and writing, collective games aimed at enhancing their knowledge and social skills while opening their mind and curiosity.

It was overall a great success especially for the street children, often the youngest of the center, who really enjoyed Annie’s daily visits over these past two weeks. She devoted great energy and positive attitude, which was much appreciated by SDC’s staff and our own team!

HOST-NGO wishes to welcome many more committed volunteers, who can involve with us on their own time, sharing their own skills. Feel free to contact our team if you wish to participate into this exciting adventure! contact@host-ngo.org