The Slow Descent into the Status Quo
Despite my role as a Community Health volunteer my involvement in health related activities has been periphery thus far unlike my fellow health volunteers who hit the pavement and walk door to door extolling the benefits of immunizations amongst other admirable activities. Therefore I made a plan to ingratiate myself slowly… first my NGO and then the community. They won’t know what hit them.
Week One of Operation Ingratiation: The Food Program was a perfect training ground; while volunteers cooked we corralled the children into the youth center and I began my first lesson: Hand Washing.
My Internet trolling revealed a bevy of information courtesy of Henry the Hand and after 10 minutes of forcing 100 children to quietly focus their attention I began my presentation.
WASH your hands when they are dirty and BEFORE eating (key as we prepared to feed them)
DO NOT cough into your hands cough into your arm (a demonstration ensued and I could not help but laugh as 100 children simultaneously coughed into the crook of their arm)
DO NOT sneeze into your hands sneeze into your arm
DO NOT put your fingers into your eyes, nose, or mouth
Yet, moments later, the children eagerly lined up to get their meal and I noted that the fundamental message was lost as many of them shoveled macaroni into their mouths with dirty fingers. I suppose hunger outweighs hygiene. Alas, hand washing will be a recurrent lesson in coming weeks.
