MANILA, Philippines — Every break time, learners at Pampalona Elementary School Unit 1 wash their hands at the handwashing station, a routine that their teacher says has helped keep more children healthy and present in class. Thanks to Global Handwashing Day, an annual event that promotes the health benefits of clean hands-Maynilad and partners have enabled more schoolchildren to turn handwashing into a life-saving habit.
The initiative is part of Maynilad’s ongoing commitment to promote hand hygiene and prevent the spread of common diseases among students. Since launching the campaign in 2009, the West Zone concessionaire has donated a total of 661 handwashing stations in schools across 17 cities and municipalities, and has engaged more than 138,000 learners and 5,800 educators through its various WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) training.
“We believe that public schools are a productive venue to share proper hygiene practices in communities,” Maynilad’s VP for Corporate Affairs and Communication Marie Antonette H. De Ocampo said. “By empowering teachers and students to form good, healthy habits early on, we help strengthen the foundation of public health.”
Show of Gratitude
“Maraming salamat po sa ganitong activity,” Grade 6 student Mathea Urice Gawaran said. “Mahalaga po na laging maipaalala na importante ang paghuhugas ng kamay para hindi kumalat ‘yong germs habang nandito kami sa school, na baka madala pa sa pag-uwi namin.”
Another student emphasized that the good habit also protects those around them, including pets at home.
“Para rin sa pets din po, para hindi rin po sila mahawa at hindi rin tayo magkasakit dahil sa pagkalat ng microbes,” student Zyriel Erin Dela Cueva said. “It keeps our overall surroundings clean.”
“Isang pagpapatunay lamang ito na ang Maynilad ay hindi lamang nakatuon sa pagpapadaloy ng malinis na tubig sa ating mga tahanan,” Raygeinald Villacorta, Partnerships and Mobilization Officer of DepEd-Las Piñas said. “Sila po ay naka-focus din sa pagsusulong sa kalusugan sa ating mga pampublikong paaralan.”
Partners for the Long Haul
Maynilad is working closely with school officials and various DepEd divisions to strengthen each school’s WASH in Schools (WinS) program. Apart from Las Piñas City, the company is also set to turn over handwashing stations and hygiene kits to schools and communities in Valenzuela, Navotas and Quezon City to celebrate GHD.
“Our dedication to promoting proper hygiene extends beyond Global Handwashing Day,” De Ocampo added. “By collaborating with our partner schools for hygiene education drives, installation of the right facilities, and donation of supplies, we build healthier communities, ensuring these efforts are sustainable in the long run.”
Observed annually on October 15, Global Handwashing Day is an international advocacy dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of handwashing as a simple and effective way to prevent diseases and potentially improve lives.
According to studies, handwashing with soap has proven to reduce diarrheal diseases by 30% and acute respiratory infections by up to 20%.1
Data from the Department of Education (DepEd) show that around 53.8% of schools across the country consistently perform daily group handwashing activities, highlighting the need to support the normalization of this habit.2
For Maynilad, making handwashing a habit plants the seed for long-term resilience of the local community, creating a safer and healthier environment for generations to come.
