MCWD, 200 pupils mark Global Handwashing Day
Water district promotes sanitation due to the high incidence of dengue fever
TO promote awareness of sanitation, the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) recently held a handwashing activity in Mactan Elementary School in Lapu-Lapu City.
The activity was part of the celebration of the Global Handwashing Day.
Almost 200 grade 1 pupils of the school took part of the activity where they were taught the proper way of washing hands and the value of sanitation and cleanliness.
Charmaine Rodriguez-Kara, manager of the Community Relations and External Affairs Department, told the kids that to prevent spreading germs, proper hand washing before and after eating, after using the toilet and after playing must be observed.
MCWD chose a school in Lapu-Lapu City since it launched this year the Septage Management Program in the city.
Lapu-Lapu City approved its septage and sewerage management ordinance in September last year.
MCWD established a septage treatment plant in Barangay San Miguel in Cordova town but it will also serve the residents of Lapu-Lapu City.
Regular desludging of septic tanks and the proper septage treatment are necessary to prevent contamination of water sources.
MCWD also promoted sanitation in schools due to the high incidence of dengue fever in Metro Cebu at this time of the year.
Dr. Rubilyn Pastrano, special teacher of Mactan Elementary School, for her part, thanked MCWD for choosing their school as the recipient of the activity.
She said proper handwashing is like a do-it-yourself vaccine as it prevents the spread of diseases.
The activity was initiated in partnership with the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) Industrial Engineering Department. A group of students from CIT-U developed an Android-run mobile application named Water Warrior.
It teaches children, aged five to nine, the value of saving water, through catching rainwater and fixing leaking faucets.