WaterGuard Wa Ufa
School Program
Implementer’s Training Curriculum
Part I
Introduction
(Time: 5 minutes)
Icebreaker:
· Introduce yourself and explain that you will be teaching the class important health information that they must learn because they must go home and teach the same message to their parents and siblings.
· Explain that this presentation will be about safe drinking water so that they can remain healthy and excel at their studies
· Start by asking:
o Who fetches water at home (students should raise hands). Ask a few students where they draw their water from.
o Who drank water this morning (students should raise hands). Pick a few students to tell the class if the water was safe and explain how they knew that the water was safe
· Explain that by the end of the lesson, each student will learn how to make water safe and how to store it safely between the time of collecting it and drinking it.
· Note: it would be good to have this introduction feel fun and energizing. This will set the tone for the rest of the class session! You might also want to consider a water-related ice-breaker, or a few funny questions to get the students engaged.
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Part II
Engaging the Students
(Time: 5 minutes)
This part should engage students and prepare them for discussion about the importance of safe water. The implementer should be interested in the subject and actively engaged, seeking as much student enthusiasm as possible.
**Encourage those who try to answer questions and applaud those who give correct answers. Prompt for the right answers and at all times try to get the correct answers from the class to ensure interaction.
Question: Why drink water every day?
Answer: Water helps the body clean out harmful bacteria and germs and is essential for keeping healthy. If you don’t drink the necessary amount of water every day, your body will become weak and easily attacked by disease. You must drink a lot of water everyday. Drinking lots of water helps reduce tiredness and improves your attention in class.
Question: How much water should I drink per day?
Answer: You should drink at least 8 glasses (or 5 big cups) of water everyday
Question: What kind of water is safe?
Answer: Not all water we call “drinking water” is safe. Only treated water is safe
Question: What are the dangers of unsafe water?
Answer: If you drink unsafe water, you may get dangerous diseases like diarrhoea, typhoid and cholera
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Part III
Educational
Comic Book
(Time: 20 minutes)
Introduce and distribute the educational comic book and explain that we will now learn about the causes of diarrhoea and how to prevent it, and the importance of drinking safe drinking water year round.
· Select a few students to read as the different characters.
· Have the students stand up and speak loudly as they read through the comic book
· Encourage them to act out the parts and to use expression, gestures. This should be fun!
· Select one student to help with the WGWU demonstration
· Walk the students through the questionnaire at the end and have them read through it
o Students should bring the comic book home with them and complete the questionnaire with their parents or guardians
o Explain that each student will receive three sachets of WaterGuard Wa Ufa to bring home with them and use with their families
o Explain that if they complete this questionnaire and bring back three (3) empty sachets of WGWU, then they will receive a small prize
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Part IV
Question & Answer
Session
(Time: 10 minutes)
You can conduct a Q&A session while you are waiting 20 minutes for the WGWU demonstration to finish. Invite questions and a dialogue so students can familiarize themselves further with WaterGuard Wa Ufa.
Below are a few questions that you might receive. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the answers so that students have all their questions answered as completely as possible
What is WaterGuard Wa Ufa?
· WGWU is a water purifier just like the ones used to treat drinking water in the USA or in the UK. It is not to be eaten or played with
Why use WaterGuard Wa Ufa?
· It is effective in preventing waterborne diseases like diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera, dysentery
· WaterGuard is especially effective when you are using very dirty water to drink (like from a river or stream)
· WGWU not only kills germs, but it also removes dirt, parasites, and poison like heavy metals and pesticides like DDT
· WGWU leaves a long lasting protection so your drinking water will not be re-contaminated
· WGWU takes very little time to prepare compared with dealing with sickness. We spend time washing closes and that’s very important. But it’s even more important to clean the water we use since it’s absolutely fundamental to our health.
Will I like the taste?
· Water treated with WGWU may have a mild metal taste and chlorine smell. This smell helps you know that your water is safe to drink
Isn’t boiling ok?
· Boiling is labour intensive and is harmful for the environment—think of the time it takes to get water hot enough and how much time and energy it takes to gather the firewood!
· Boiling does not protect your water against re-contamination. Recontamination happens very easily (example: dirty hands touching the water during storage)
Can clear water be contaminated?
· YES! Water can look clear but be contaminated. Just because water looks clear doesn’t mean that it is safe. There can be millions of germs in the water that cannot be seen by the eye!
· If you water looks clean, use WaterGuard instead of WaterGuard Wa Ufa
Is my water safe if I draw it from a “safe water source”?
· Most of the time, water is contaminated after collecting it. Think about how water can be contaminated by a dirty bucket, or your fingers that dip into the ndowa when you are raising it onto your head.
· Even borehole or tap water should be treated—if it looks clean, you can treat the water with WaterGuard.
What else can I do to practice good hygiene?
· Proper hand washing is also very important! Make sure you wash your hands at critical times (ex: after using the toilet, after caring for someone who is sick, before preparing or eating food, after changing your sibling’s nappy)
How do I wash my hands properly?
· Wet your hands with lots of water
· Lather thoroughly with soap, covering all surfaces, including under nails
· Rinse hands
· Dry your hands completely with a clean towel if possible, or air dry
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Part V
Wrapping Up
Thank students for their attention and remind them to bring the three sachets of WaterGuard Wa Ufa home with them.
· Tell them that their “homework” is to demonstrate WaterGuard Wa Ufa with their parents and siblings. Remind students about the importance of drinking safe, treated water year round—not just in the rainy season!
· Encourage them to start now.
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Part VI
Recap:
Implementer’s Review
This part is for you, the implementer, to provide some helpful hints, recap your knowledge about the Schools Program, and answer extra questions.
Points to remember when presenting:
· This presentation should be fun and informative—you can also have fun with this and personalize the presenting technique!
· If students are quiet, wait a little while and then gently prompt them. Call on specific students if no one is answering. Always try to get the correct answers from the class to prevent miscommunication
· Encourage those who try to answer questions and applaud those who give correct answers.
· Try call and response (ex: at the end of the presentation, call out: “who is going to take WaterGuard Wa Ufa home and try it with their parents?”)
Recap Information:
How do I use WaterGuard Wa Ufa?
· Get 10 litres of water from your usual source and pour into a bucket
· Cut the WGWU sachet at the top corner
· Add the sachet’s contents to the 10 litres of water
· Stir briskly for 5 minutes
· Wait for 5 minutes as dirt settles to the bottom
· Filter the water using a clean cotton cloth without holes by pouring water into a safe water vessel- make sure there is a lid!
· Let the water settle for 20 minutes
· After 20 minutes, the water is safe to drink
When should I use WaterGuard Wa Ufa:
· You should drink treated water year round (not just in the rainy season!)
· WaterGuard Wa Ufa is best when drinking water is visibly dirty
· When the water is clear (like from a tap or borehole), recommend using WaterGuard liquid.
How should I store the water?
· After treating your water, use a safe storage vessel to keep the water safe (make sure there is a tight fitting lid on top to avoid hands dipping in)
· Examples of safe water vessels include: a pot with a cover and tap, a clay pot with a cover
· Use a 2 cup system to withdraw water
Is WaterGuard Wa Ufa safe?
· Water treated with WaterGuard Wa Ufa is completely safe to drink and the product satisfies rigorous testing by international health authorities (WHO, CDC).
· Of course, you should not eat or play with the contents in the sachet-- WaterGuard Wa Ufa is meant to be dissolved with 10 litres of water!
As a program implementer, your positive motivation and encouragement of students is critical to the success of the program.
Be a role model: By being a fully engaged in these presentations, you are communicating important health messages to Malawi’s next generation…
Thank you!
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