In the public washroom in my church there are several posters about hand washing on the wall. One that drew my special attention was the one giving step-by-step instructions about how to wash your hands effectively.
1. You turn on the tap.
2. You hold your hands under the tap to wet them.
3. You apply soap to your hands.
4. Etc., etc.
I don't believe I need to present you with the full list of instructions. If you read this blog, I think you know how to wash your hands without written instructions on your wall.
My initial reaction was, "My goodness, what's this world coming to? So much education and we don't know how to wash our hands?" I couldn't believe what I read! Do we really need that? Apparently we do.
Different cultures have different ways of caring for their hands, their hygiene and their health. In the part of Nigeria where I spent many years, people are very particular what they do with which hand. The right hand is the social hand and the food hand, because of the unspoken things they do with their left. Before you eat, you wash your hands in a bowl of water that is passed around along with a towel, but without soap. They want to make sure their hands are clean, especially because in some ethnic cultures they eat with their hands and often in a group from one bowl. But why no soap? Because the soap smell will affect the taste of the food. However, after the meal, a bowl of clean water is passed around along with the towel AND the soap. So, very hygienic.
In the Canadian culture that surrounds me these days, people eat some foods with their hands and some with fork or spoon. However, many times they do not wash their hands before eating, not even before eating so-called finger foods. Those who do, do so privately, not publicly. Probably because I lived in Nigeria so long, I tend to wash my hands before eating, but privately from a tap, not at the table.
This issue is, of course, hygiene and health. And that holds not only for food, but for many activities. Whenever I come home from outside, I wash my hands even if I do not intend to eat. The reason is that one picks up all kinds of dirt, both seen and unseen, that can make you ill.
So, perhaps, those washroom posters are necessary after all, even for careless educated people. At any rate the UN and others think the world needs to have its attention drawn to the need to wash hands regularly. So they established Global Hand Washing Day. I quote the following from some websites:
The first Global Hand Washing Day was held in 2008, when over 120 million children around the world washed their hands with soap in more than 70 countries. Since 2008, community and national leaders have used Global Hand Washing Day to spread the word about hand washing, build sinks and tippy taps, and demonstrate the simplicity and value of clean hands. Each year, over 200 million people are involved in celebrations in over 100 countries around the world. Global Hand Washing Day is endorsed by a wide array of governments, international institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs, private companies, and individuals.
https://globalhandwashing.org/global-handwashing-day/about-ghd/
1. You turn on the tap.
2. You hold your hands under the tap to wet them.
3. You apply soap to your hands.
4. Etc., etc.
I don't believe I need to present you with the full list of instructions. If you read this blog, I think you know how to wash your hands without written instructions on your wall.
My initial reaction was, "My goodness, what's this world coming to? So much education and we don't know how to wash our hands?" I couldn't believe what I read! Do we really need that? Apparently we do.
Different cultures have different ways of caring for their hands, their hygiene and their health. In the part of Nigeria where I spent many years, people are very particular what they do with which hand. The right hand is the social hand and the food hand, because of the unspoken things they do with their left. Before you eat, you wash your hands in a bowl of water that is passed around along with a towel, but without soap. They want to make sure their hands are clean, especially because in some ethnic cultures they eat with their hands and often in a group from one bowl. But why no soap? Because the soap smell will affect the taste of the food. However, after the meal, a bowl of clean water is passed around along with the towel AND the soap. So, very hygienic.
In the Canadian culture that surrounds me these days, people eat some foods with their hands and some with fork or spoon. However, many times they do not wash their hands before eating, not even before eating so-called finger foods. Those who do, do so privately, not publicly. Probably because I lived in Nigeria so long, I tend to wash my hands before eating, but privately from a tap, not at the table.
This issue is, of course, hygiene and health. And that holds not only for food, but for many activities. Whenever I come home from outside, I wash my hands even if I do not intend to eat. The reason is that one picks up all kinds of dirt, both seen and unseen, that can make you ill.
So, perhaps, those washroom posters are necessary after all, even for careless educated people. At any rate the UN and others think the world needs to have its attention drawn to the need to wash hands regularly. So they established Global Hand Washing Day. I quote the following from some websites:
The first Global Hand Washing Day was held in 2008, when over 120 million children around the world washed their hands with soap in more than 70 countries. Since 2008, community and national leaders have used Global Hand Washing Day to spread the word about hand washing, build sinks and tippy taps, and demonstrate the simplicity and value of clean hands. Each year, over 200 million people are involved in celebrations in over 100 countries around the world. Global Hand Washing Day is endorsed by a wide array of governments, international institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs, private companies, and individuals.
Global Handwashing Day is an annual global advocacy day dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding about the importance of handwashing with soap as an easy, effective, and affordable way to prevent diseases and save lives.
Celebrated annually on October 15, Global Handwashing Day was founded by the Global Handwashing Partnership, and is an opportunity to design, test, and replicate creative ways to encourage people to wash their hands with soap at critical times.
Global Handwashing Day is designed to:
- Foster and support a global and local culture of handwashing with soap
- Shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing around the world
- Raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap
Well, I think you get the point. I urge you to join the event this coming Saturday and that you draw many people's attention to it. As unlikely as I first thought it, I've become a believer and supporter. I hope the same for you--a lot cheaper than your doctor or your pharmacist. And, in case you forgot, God expects us to do all we can to protect ourselves by living responsibly. Washing our hands regularly is part of that responsible living.
https://globalhandwashing.org/global-handwashing-day/about-ghd/
