Santa Catalina, Negros Oriental – The Municipal Nutrition Committee thru the Municipal Health Office of Santa Catalina heightened the implementation of its water and sanitation and hygiene program. Dubbed “WaSH for everyJUAN”, the program was designed for preschool children to improve access to safe, reliable water supplies and sanitation services, recognizing that lack of access to these resources are a barrier to growth and health.
The program was launched with an orientation on 27 December 2022 and sessions are expected to be completed by end in January 2023. Covering all 22 barangays in the municipality, the orientation sessions will be conducted by batches which will be held in the barangays clustered by locations. Attendees per batch will include preschool children and their parents from nearby barangays. The system will be patterned with the Nutrition Caravan conducted last November.
Health and nutrition workers from the Municipal Health Office will be facilitating the five batches of orientation sessions which will focus on proper hand washing and the importance of proper hygiene. Hygiene kits were also provided for the preschool children at the end of the orientation.
WaSH for everyJUAN is aimed to increase productivity and reduce waterborne diseases—one of the leading causes of death in children under five. According to the Department of Education and Department of Health, the program is pursuant to the country’s mandate to defend children’s rights to dignity, assistance, and protection from circumstances that would impede their development. The was initiated to achieve learning and health outcomes of Filipino students through a comprehensive, sustainable, and scalable program.
An Italian Physician and Philosopher of Education, Maria Montessori once said, “Early childhood education is the key to the betterment of society.” Speaking from the perspective of one of the most well-known early childhood educators, she emphasizes the value of educating our children to develop a better society and this is the concept behind the WaSH for everyJUAN. // Jhianne Mae Nicole C. Tugaoen, RND, Nutritionist-Dietitian II
