In the New School there is a bathroom available for the children to use during class time. Unfortunately the children have not had a place to wash their hands after using the bathroom, this is of course unhygienic and can cause illnesses that can be spread amongst the students. Seeing the need for a hygienic place for the students to clean their hands after using the bathroom, SCAO set out to put together a project proposal that would see the installation of 3 hand washing sinks, a toilet hose (bum gun), anti-bacterial hand soap, hand towels and painting the inside of the bathroom.
A former volunteer Daisy Gruben, who returned home in January 2013, decided to hold a fundraising event among her friends and family. With this she was able to put the money that she raised towards a majority of the funding for the Clean Hands Project. The remaining cost of the project was supported by our Partner Organisation, Pacha Youth.
The project was completed after Khmer New Year, 20th April 2013, just in time for the students when they returned to study. Each of the classes were given a lesson on the importance of cleaning their hands after using the bathroom, before eating food and before entering the classroom. Now every day before their class you can see the students washing their hands a face. It is a luxury for the children in the village of Som Roung to be able to wash their hands with soap and running water.
We at SCAO would like to thank Daisy Gruben and Pacha Youth for their support in funding this project. We are always looking for more people to sponsor our projects in order to keep SCAO running and to improve the livelihoods of the communities we work in.
