Women in Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) have educated pupils of Kwaso M/A JHS in the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality of the Ashanti region on proper handwashing.

The group, which is under the Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Centre (RWESCK) at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), also educated the children on other good hygiene practices.

The programme formed part of activities to commemorate Global Handwashing Day, which was observed on October 15.

Women in WASH, which is made up of past and present students of the Centre, trains and mentors women to lead the WASH sector.

They are also involved in community sanitation education sensitization.

The Group Lead and Industry Liaison Officer of RWESCK, Dr. Mrs. Helen Michelle Korkor Essandoh said the town was chosen due its limited resources.

She believes the exercise is essential in curtailing diseases in the community.

“They may be disadvantaged when it comes to distribution of resources. We decided to go to peri-urban communities and give them some education.

 “When we look at children, they are vulnerable to diseases. And if they don’t maintain good hygiene practices, our children will be falling sick.

“In fact for children, they’ll take the message home. So, we’re relying on them to educate their parents and other people at home,” she said.

An expert in environmental health and sanitation at the KNUST, Prof. Mrs. Esi Awuah called for the provision of clean water and toilet facilities in all schools in Ghana.

“So, all schools must have proper toilet facilities and clean water for the students to enjoy good hygienic practices in their communities.

“Everybody must have access to clean water, soap and the rest are easy to get. We must have a facility for sanitization," she advocated.

The exercise was in collaboration with the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA).

It was under the theme: “our future is at hand-let’s move forward together.”

Acting systems Managers of CWSA Onwe-Kwaso and Eric Twum Barima emphasized the Covid-19 pandemic prevention has made the partnership more important.

“This year, we’d planned of doing it and fortunately RWESCK came along. They’re in to help give the information out why handwashing is very important even as at now COVID is hanging on our necks,” he said.

The group donated tissue, liquid soap, and hand washing stations to the school to boost proper hand washing practices.