TO help address the negative effects of poor sanitation on the learning capacity of students, a toilet hygiene brand tied up with the Department of Education (DepEd) and Germany’s Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to benefit 7 million Filipino schoolchildren by 2021.
This partnership of Domex with DepEd and GIZ seeks to provide access to usable, clean and safe toilets to school beneficiaries nationwide.
Studies have shown that the lack of these facilities seriously impacts the health, comfort and learning ability of students.
In fact, 84 percent of schoolteachers and school nurses attribute the increase in the number of sick days of students to this concern, which, in turn, affect the students’ learning.
“Domex believes that a clean and safe school toilet is a right, not a privilege,” said Vanessa Ong, marketing director for Unilever Home Care.
“Currently, one in two schools in the Philippines still do not follow national guidelines on sanitation. Through this landmark partnership, we join forces to achieve clean, safe and usable toilets for every Filipino child,” she added.
Such initiative is part of the Domex #TogetherWeAreUnstoppable campaign, which enjoins the entire nation to win the war on poor sanitation in schools.
Also, it’s included in the many efforts of the DepEd to enhance school sanitation conditions through its Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Program (DepEd WinS).
Through this program, schools are provided with practical guidance on what they need to do to achieve usable, clean and safe toilets.
Domex, on its part, will give the right support and training for janitors, school staff, and students to encourage schools to adopt healthy school hygiene practices.
The kick off event held at the Lakandula High School also saw the inaugural of its Eskwelang Unstoppable Awards meant to speed up the progress toward reaching national sanitation standards.
In this competition, schools and division offices are encouraged and rewarded for adopting the DepEd WinS program, making stepwise improvements in school sanitation.
The award aims to promote good hygiene and sanitation habits by reinforcing the importance of maintaining usable, clean and safe toilets in schools nationwide.
“Through the Eskwelang Unstoppable Award we hope to recognize and reward schools that have greatly improved toilet sanitation conditions for their students and staff,” Ong said.
“We believe that keeping toilets clean and safe is a shared responsibility. We want to rally everyone—from partners and parents, to janitors, staff and students—to join the movement and put an end to poor sanitation,” she added.
Culminating during World Toilet Day on November 19, the contest will honor the Best School Division and the Most Improved Schools from the winning division based on WinS star ratings.
