SAVE THE CHILDREN PROMOTES HEALTH AND SANITATION IN COMMUNITIES OF RASHT VALLEY, TAJIKISTAN

Rasht valley is a remote and mountainous area bordering with Kyrgyz Republic in the North-East of Tajikistan. It forms the upper reaches of the Vaksh river, flowing between the high peaks of the Pamirs to the east, and the Zarafshan range to the west. Many of the dramatic peaks are snow capped throughout the year, some over 5,000m. The population in Rasht valley is very hospitable, with very strong traditional and religious customs.

In November 12-14, 2014 School Healht and Nutrition (SHN) team with support of the project partner Civil Society Support Center (CSSC) “Oshtii Milli” conducted Village Health Days in three districts of the valley: Rasht, Tojikobod and Jirgatol. Through the events and with involvement of the school children, Save the Children advocated for better health and sanitation among community members.

Under the slogan “Healthy Community - Healthy Society”, schoolchildren, members of the Child Lead Organizations involved in the SHN project, invited their parents, community leaders, peers, teachers, religious leaders, local NGOs, representatives of District Educational Departments, Hukumat representatives and schoolchildren from other schools and villages to the event to share experiences on health, sanitation and hygiene.

“There really are few cultural and health programs conducted in Rasht valley, therefore people crave for such kind of informational events. We are proud that our children are taking health education from the School Health and Nutrition project and learn to disseminate information among the community. And they do it very well!” – said Himatova Zebo, head of District Educational Department in Tojikobod district. 

The key health messages disseminated by School Health and Nutriton project, “Washing hands with soap and water” and “Brushing teeth twice a day”, were shared among the population by reading poems, puzzles, role plays, drawing pictures, singing songs and asking questions. More than 420 leaflets/booklets and 200 copies of oral health cartoon were disseminated. Community members also were involved to participate in the events’ activities, drawing their everyday hygiene issues at home, performing roleplay and dancing together with children. Save the Children gifted most active participants with hygiene kits (soap, towel, bath sponge, comb, wet tissues, tooth paste and brush). More than 860 people in three districts were involved to the health events.

Save the Children School Health and Nutrition, funded by Wrigley Company Foundation, works in Rasht valley since 2011 in 36 targeted schools for improving health and education status of schoolchildren, raising awareness on the importance of clean water and good hygiene practices and supporting communities on improving hygiene & sanitation infrastructure in schools.