Hygiene is something that is significantly highlighted in our culture. Taking care of one's own hygiene is relatively welcomed and appreciated in most communities.

Taking care of hygiene and promoting good practices in this respect is a vital issue to be addressed in the EQ zones especially among school going children for the reason that they are the most receptive group if compared to adults. 

This project has targeted 250 schools out of 473 government primary schools in the earthquake affected areas of Bagh District, AJK.

The objectives of the project were to:

To achieve the above mentioned objectives, health and hygiene training sessions were held in the targeted schools. During the project span (12 months), more than 25,000 children and teachers were oriented and sensitized regarding health & hygiene covering the following topics;

Government Girls High School Thub Bagh

The Government Girls High School Thub is situated at a distance of 25 kilometers from District Headquarters Bagh. This school is at the center of the Union Council with a number of 503 girls and boys students and 20 teachers.

This school was completely demolished in the October 2005 devastating earthquake and students were deprived of the basic education facilities. After the earthquake, students have been forced to sit on bare ground. This school was facilitated with the basic needs i.e. students and teachers’ chairs, tables and other teaching support materials. Considering the big number of the students and the need to protect them from diseases, this school was covered in the Health and Hygiene campaigns. The aim was to develop healthy and hygienic habits among the students.

All the 503 students at this school, especially those of primary level have been oriented and sensitized over important lessons regarding personal and family hygiene, epidemics, skin diseases, importance of clean water, hand washing, healthy food and spreading the message of healthy life to families by the children. These lessons were delivered in 11 sessions in a period of one year.

According to the school Principal Mohammad Farooq, "this activity of developing of healthy habits and hygiene among children is of enormous importance. After the earthquake, we have been having insufficient facilities for the students to stay neat and clean. Children are always prone to diseases and this is important to develop healthy practices among them regarding diseases and the importance of hygiene. This has helped students to stay safe and adopt standard hygiene practices."
"Yes! We have observed the change. Children are now coming clean to the school. They have developed the habits of washing their hands, cleaning their teeth and keep their classroom and school surrounding clean,” stated Mohammad Farooq. He further added, "This activity has helped teachers too. They are now better able to guide students regarding health and hygiene with great knowledge and detail." Mohammad Farooq concluded, "This intervention has resulted in creating a positive attitude in students regarding health and hygiene."