Yesterday, October 15, 2008, the first ever Global Hand Washing Day (GHWD) occurred. According to one report, nearly one million Ethiopian children (plus millions elsewhere) washed their hands to initiate this simple, yet profound celebration.Estimates say that nearly 2.6 billion people do not have access to proper sanitation, nearly half of the population in Ethiopia. The lack of sanitation impacts the affluence of disease, which often leads to death. A horrific statistic states that nearly 4 million children die annually in developing countries because of simple diahorreal diseases and pneumonia – both of which can be severely minimized by basic sanitation.
The implementation of GHWD is an attempt to impact the thinking of children in Ethiopia and other developing countries. If an entire generation of people can apply the life-saving techniques of hand washing, then thousands perhaps millions will be saved from serious illness and/or death. The little things that we take for granted!
So…did you wash your hands yesterday?! Did you wash them today?! Are you teaching your children to wash their hands tomorrow?
1 comment:
You see, I'm not crazy or a fanatic! I'm glad they've made an event out of hand washing. It is important! Notice, I have not gotten sick with whatever is going around our church staff.
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