The habit of maintaining personal hygiene grew among school children in Kolkata and neighbouring districts during the pandemic when handwashing with soap or use of sanitizers had become the practice.
The Unicef said here that this was found during an event on the occasion of Global Handwashing Day Saturday by schoolchildren who are members of Bharat Scouts and Guides at Ganganagar in North 24 Parganas near Kolkata.
A handwashing training and demonstration by the schoolchildren was organised there as part of the ongoing five-day 'Cub Bulbul Utsav', a Unicef release said.
The boys and girls at the Unicef event are being taught to continue the habit of washing their hands everywhere for the rest of their lives.
The boys and girls present there said they wash hands with soap now to get rid of grease and dirt from their palms after returning to their homes.
"We learnt and practiced handwashing. I use soap to clean my hands. The soap will kill the germs in my hands. It will help to keep our stomachs well," said Ankush Kumar, a student of class two, after demonstrating the scientific methods of handwashing before the Unicef members who trained them in it.
A fellow camper Akash Panda, a class four student, said that he washes hands after toilet before the meal and during bath. Nearly a hundred students aged between six and ten years from Kolkata and adjoining districts of Howrah, Hooghly, North and South 24 Parganas are camping at Ganganagar.
"Now the children are no longer required to be asked to wash their hands with soap before eating or after toilet use. The importance of handwashing has increased among the children and their parents," said Koushik Chatterjee, assistant state commissioner of West Bengal Bharat Scouts and Guides.
Chatterjee said Unicef has been promoting handwashing among children as it is an effective way to prevent diarrhoea and respiratory infections like pneumonia in children.
"The habit of washing hands with soap before meals and after toilet use can save many lives. This positive behavioural practice should be continued in every household to keep the members healthy," Mohammad Mohiuddin, chief of Unicef in West Bengal said.
