Foundation, Dettol induct 84 pupils as ambassadors to promote hygiene education

By Gabriel Dike

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA) and Dettol has inducted 84 Lagos State school pupils to help promote hand washing and other areas of hygiene among their colleagues, teachers and even their parents.

The event took place at Lagos City College, Sabo and was attended by 42 schools and teachers from three local government areas, which are Surulere, Somolu and Lagos Mainland.

At the Dettol Hygiene Quest Ambassador Induction Workshop, the pupils were inducted as ambassadors and are expected to form Hygiene Quest Clubs in their schools.

Daily Sun gathered that aside Lagos State, the Dettol Hygiene Quest initiative also took place in Abuja and Kwara States and that there are plans to extend it to other states.

The event also includes hand washing demonstration, presentation of Hygiene Quest Club Handbook, spelling bee competition, feedback from schools and induction into the club.

The Director of Programming, The Wellbeing Foundation Africa, Mr. Williams Awotunde, said, “the event is a pivotal moment where we come together across three LGAs in Lagos, Kwara, and the Federal Capital Territory, to ignite a spark of leadership, responsibility, and transformation.

“This induction workshop marks the beginning of a journey, a journey where each of you (our Dettol Hygiene Quest Ambassadors) will be the torchbearer of change in your schools and communities.”

Awotunde, who was represented by Mr. Daniel Ikwong, said the DHQ project was designed with a clear vision to create lasting behavioral change that doesn’t end with a workshop or a campaign, noting, that the induction isn’t the end but the beginning.

“As part of our sustainability plan, we are building a network of Hygiene Quest Clubs in schools, clubs led by you, our ambassadors. These clubs will ensure that hygiene education and advocacy continue long after the banners are taken down and the workshops are concluded.

“You will lead hand washing demonstrations, hygiene campaigns, and WASH activities, keeping the momentum alive in your schools. Your role is to inspire your peers, engage your teachers, and influence your communities”, Awotunde noted.

Awotunde lauded the partnership with Dettol and acknowledged their unwavering support to the initiative. He tasked the students to build a future where every school is a model of hygiene excellence, and every ambassador is a beacon of hope and health.

In her remarks, Dettol Brand Manager, Abikoye Toluwase, said the target of the initiative is for pupils between 6 to 14 years, who will become ambassadors to teach other students and their parents.

We started the initiative in 2014 and stopped during COVID-19 and we resumed in 2022. One of our major objectives is to create the wellbeing of Nigerians, which include school pupils.

She described the induction as a significant milestone and that Dettol will continue to support the initiative, adding, the club will ensure pupils learn to live a healthy life. Every pupil is an ambassador to promote hygiene education.

In their goodwill messages, representatives of the Ministry of Environment and the State Universal Basic Education Board commended the foundation and Dettol for promoting hygiene education among school pupils.

The Digital Midwife of WBFA, Mrs. Eunice Akhigbe, said the target of Reckitt is to reach six million children in Nigeria by 2030, educating them on behavioural changes.

Akhigbe revealed that, Reckitts vision is to reach six million children in Nigeria by 2030 educating and aiding behaviour change in children’s hygiene habits and reducing the incidence of illness and sick days from which will have a profound, generational, impact on health, education, and development.

The intended impact of the proposed project is to support/contribute and accelerate hygiene quests project target to educate, empower and aspire six million school children to practice healthy hygiene habits to achieve a 20 percent increase in hand washing incidence, reduce diarrhoea cases by 10 percent and achieve 10 percent decline in absenteeism by 2030.

She noted that addressing the challenges through hygiene education and awareness creation using standard integrated tools developed by WBFA in collaboration with Dettol will become an important in reaching out to students, teachers and career givers of children in schools, and communities.

Aside from the inauguration of the club, induction of ambassadors, the school pupils participated in the Spelling Bee competition and the winners went home with prizes.