Keep pace with our #EveryDropCounts water initiative
Green Logik SA hosts fun event about good hygiene in Delft
ALOCAL business owner has literally placed good hygiene and water saving habits in the hands of learners. Dawn Petersen was in Delft to host a fun educational event with pupils about maintaining good hand hygiene (despite the current water crisis), as well an activation that taught them how fast germs could spread.
Petersen, who owns Green Logik SA, donated a large amount of hand sanitiser to the youngsters.
“Any parent can attest to the ongoing challenge and creativeness required to get their children to wash their hands before eating – perhaps more so now as Capetonians are reminded to save water where possible,” she said.
But for the parents of Rosendal Primary School, this job just became much easier.
Petersen’s company donated 17 850 Lunch-Box Buddy® products – sachets which were individually sealed tested waterless antibacterial hand sanitisers for lunch boxes.
The supplies for the 743 grade R, 1, 2 and 3 learners are enough to last them until the end of the school term.
Green Logik SA will also install eight hand sanitiser dispensers in the school toilets and provide 50 litres of sanitising gel – enough for 25 000 hand washes – for the pupils in other grades.
During the handover, Petersen explained to the children how bacteria was transferred and how to prevent its spread.
She described how 80% of illnesses were due to poor hand hygiene, which transfers bacteria into the body (fingers to mouth) or through being in contact with contaminated surfaces and allowing bacteria to spread by failing to wash hands.
The learners were invited to participate in a practical experiment to demonstrate how easily germs could spread through everyday engagements.
“Children need visual reminders to apply the knowledge of good hand hygiene, as well as understand that water is a scarcity and that we need to conserve natural resources and use alternative methods,” said Petersen.
She said the business idea for LunchBox Buddy® was inspired by her attempts to find practical solutions to instil the habit of hand hygiene in her children – especially her son, who was a “germ magnet”.
In 2016, via the Department of Economic Development, she was introduced to Pick n Pay’s enterprise and supplier development programme, which enabled her to take her innovative product to market via retail, and help influence the well-being and lifelong habits of children.
Her product not only addressed poor hygiene behaviour, but also water conservation, she said.
“We wanted to provide a solution that promoted positive behaviour by encouraging children to take personal responsibility for their hygiene.
“At the same time, we wanted to create a product with a measurable and sustainable strategy.
“When you substitute hand washing (soap and water) with a 2ml sanitiser (2ml is the recommended amount to use to properly dehydrate bacteria), you save more than 2 litres of water.”
The Rosendal school initiative was facilitated by Pick n Pay’s School Club.
André Nel, general manager for sustainability at Pick n Pay, said the educational event was a fun and interactive way to promote hygiene and encourage learners to save water.
Pick n Pay’s School Club is the largest brand-funded education programme in South Africa and assists educators to achieve their classroom objectives by providing curriculum-aligned educational content to more than 3 000 schools, at no cost to the schools.
Lunch-Box Buddy® is available at Pick n Pay stores nationwide. – Staff Writer
WE WANTED TO PROVIDE A SOLUTION THAT PROMOTED POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR AND RESPONSIBILITY