Sanitation and Oral Health

Sanitation programs in Nepal have enabled rural villagers and school children to have a healthier living environment, where hand washing and tooth brushing are now a part of daily life.

The school dental programs in Nepal revealed an underlying problem with sanitation, both in the schools and in the villages.  The sanitation facilities either didn’t exist, or were not functioning adequately and were in danger of becoming health hazards.

Without access to clean water, safe disposal of human waste, facilities for hand washing and storage of hygiene items, tooth cleaning advice can be an interesting discussion but one which leads to no change. Rather, it can cause embarrassment and shame.

What have we learned?

To approach a village by starting with the school:

  • with cooperation from the school staff and families, an oral health program is offered, and sanitation facilities at the school are checked
  • if necessary, toilets are upgraded to be safe and functional, hand washing capacity is built, soap storage/dispensing is put in place, tooth brush storage is built, water storage is considered
  • dental training is provided to the teachers, dental camps provide free preventive dental care, the teachers supervise a daily school tooth brushing program
  • all partners contribute to the sanitation improvements according to their expertise and capacity: the school might provide labour and equipment for manual works, offer meals to workers, buy and install a water storage tank, identify local skilled staff who could be employed in the program
  • an international team works with the local teams to identify appropriate sanitation facilities, and how to get them built.

Always funds are required, and the programs are extremely grateful to supporters and donors.

 

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Fading eastern light over western NSW plains on re-entry to Sydney.  Tough visit to Nepal this time. Struggling economy, massive inflation, increasing suicide rates, fewer and fewer jobs. Small wonder the drain of young people coursing out of the country, mainly aged 18-30 years, continues to grow. On average 3-4000 per day.  Villages are emptying. Schools are closing due to falling numbers of students.  Families are breaking up, leaving the parents to grow into either a lonely retirement in Nepal or face moving to another country where they are with their kids and grandkids but without their daily neighbours and local community.  It’s great to see so many beautiful Nepalese working and helping in Australia and other countries, and seeking opportunities they can’t find in their home country but the social, structural and political fracturing back in Nepal is deepening. The next few years will be very interesting.  Namaste!!🙏🏽 🙏🏽
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