Orphans and Vulnerable Children - CRIN

For this activity you will need:

 Flipchart and markers

 Copies of Handout 4

To facilitate this activity:

1 Ask participants to brainstorm a list of indicators of poor hygiene practices and then good hygiene
practices for a household. Group the lists of indicators in appropriate categories, such as personal
hygiene, water safety, use of latrines, clothing, housing and food preparation.

2 Then, based on the number of categories of good hygiene practices that were identified, divide the
participants into groups. Each group will be assigned a good hygiene category.

 Food and water safety

Illness can be prevented by taking care with the storage and preparation of food.

The home and areas where food is stored or prepared should be kept clean. All cooking

utensils should be kept clean.

Both food and water should be stored in clean containers with lids, so that flies and animals

do not spread germs to them. Fly control is a positive way to prevent the spread of germs.

When cooking, make sure that food is cooked properly before eating. This is especially true

of meat, which should be cooked right through. Cooked food should not be eaten if it has

been left unrefridgerated for more than six hours.

In areas where the safety of water is not guaranteed, water for drinking and cooking should be

purified or boiled before use.

If babies’ bottles are used, they should be scrubbed and boiled before being filled, as they are

one of the main ways that diarrhoeal germs are spread to babies. Otherwise, babies should be

fed with a cup and spoon, which are easier to keep clean.

 Other basic hygiene practices that help to stop the spread of disease:

• Wash one’s body regularly


• Wash clothes and bedding regularly


• Wash hands before preparing food and eating


• Wash hands before giving medicines


• Wash hands after changing soiled clothes or bedding of a sick person


• Avoid spitting as it spreads germs and can spread TB, for example


• Dispose of household waste in a pit latrine or by burying or burning


• Cover bleeding cuts or wounds and avoid direct contact with the blood of other people


• Wear latex gloves when helping a bleeding person.

45 minutes

Guide to Mobilising and Strengthening Community-Led Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Unit 2, Module 3^247