Barring a few folks with serious psychological problems, almost every parent in the world likes to think that they are doing their best to keep their kids safe from harm. However, for parents living in third world countries, sometimes that just isn’t enough. Take Gondappa for instance. He lives in a remote village in southern India called Thesgora. He is something of a poster guy for folks like him. He works hard all day, lives in relative poverty and only yearns for a happy family life. However, despite his best efforts, Gondappa never got to see his children live past the age of 5.
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Having lost many of his children to diseases like diarrhea, Gondappa was more than willing to listen when a team of charity workers from LifeBuoy came to his village 5 years ago and told him that diarrhea and other such infectious diseases can be easily prevented by washing hands with soap and water after visiting the loo, before preparing meals, after handling dirt and interacting with animals and before and after eating meals.
On October 15, 2012, LifeBuoy’s Global Handwashing Day program celebrated its fifth birthday and only recently, Gondappa got to see his son make it to his fifth birthday in good health. And that has filled Gondappa with so much glee that he decided to thank the handwashing initiative by walking miles on his hands alone. It is this triumphant hand walk from a grateful father that is at the center of Lifebuoy’s Help a Child Reach 5 program. The program basically looks to educate people about the huge benefits of simple everyday activities like washing hands with soap. According to statistics, more than 1.1 millions kids below the age of 5 died each year from diarrhea caused by poor hygiene before 2008 though in the five years that the program has been active, more than 600,000 kids have been able to see their fifth birthdays and beyond. You too can help support the cause by taking a pledge and supporting LifeBuoy’s cause through your social networking page.
