Kenya: school children attempt to break world handwashing record
School children at Thirime primary school, Kikuyu, Kenya on Global Handwashing Day. Photo: Thomas Mukoya-Reuters
Close to 20,000 school children and adults took part in a handwashing campaign in an attempt to establish a new Guinness World Record. They gathered at Thirime Primary School in Kikuyu on 15 October 2010 to mark Global Handwashing Day.
Education Permanent Secretary James Ole Kiyiapi announced that 19,352 people, including 18,302 children and 1,050 adults washed their hands during the event. If recognised, this would break the previous record for the most number of people washing hands at a single venue set by 15,150 students in Chennai, India, in 2009. Plan Bangladesh and partners claim to hold the record for the most number of people washing hands at multiple locations, when 52,970 school children gathered across the country in October 2009.
Prof. Kiyiapi announced that every school in Kenya should have a clean toilet for boys and another for girls.
“The Ministry will ensure this happens and they must be properly designed and clean. Out of the money we give to schools, we are going to tell the head teachers to get some of it that was going into instructional materials to construct proper toilets where there are none to improve hygiene,” he said.
Students from over 20 schools in Kikuyu and Dagoretti areas in Kenya took part in Global Handwashing Day events.
Below is a report by Smriti Vidyarthi of NTV Kenya on the record breaking attempt at Thirime Primary School.
Filed under: Africa, Campaigns and Events, Hygiene Promotion Tagged: Global Handwashing Day, Guinness World Records, Kenya
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wash your hands today and keep the germs away!!!