Washing Away Worry About COVID-19

Handwashing training was incredibly helpful for me, especially since it was the first time I truly realized the importance of handwashing to protect against COVID-19—not just for myself, but for my entire family. I even used the videos and flashcards provided by the PSI India volunteers to teach my children the correct way to wash their hands with soap every time they returned home from outside.

Mamtha is now using the videos and flash cards to share with other families in her community as well. She has also insisted on installation of a digital wall-painting on handwashing in her anganwadicenter, and says her effort to improve handwashing behavior during COVID-19 is being appreciated by her superiors in the mandal (district). Key opinion leaders in the village – including the Panchayat Secretary – have expressed their happiness about improvement in handwashing practices in the village, especially amongst children. Encouraged by the response, Mamtha says with the easy availability of vaccines in her village now, she is now motivating her community to come forward to get themselves vaccinated.

Mamtha even went a step further - she made hard copies of the flashcards
on her own expense and shared it with most of the children in the
village, who in turn learnt the handwashing steps from these
flashcards and even developed a game around it.