DDHK News, Indonesia - Since the last eruption of Mount Sinabung, Saturday (1/2), around 644 residents at the foot of Mount Sinabung are still taking refuge at the Makamehuli post, Kabanjahe, Karo, North Sumatra.
Living in refugee camps has made the refugees pay less attention to hygiene, especially in terms of washing their hands. Seeing these conditions, the Disaster Management Center response team Dompet Dhuafa (DMC DD) held a Hand Washing with Soap program starting Thursday, (6/2).
"Washing Hands with Soap, this program was inspired by the lack of awareness of the refugees regarding the cleanliness of their hands," said Ahmad Riyadi, DMC Response Team. Dompet Dhuafa.
Ahmad revealed that the aim of this program is to invite all refugees, especially children, to get used to washing their hands with soap. He assessed that while in the refugee camp, many children when eating food did not wash their hands first and it was very dangerous to health.
"This program is aimed at all refugees, especially children who are susceptible to disease by hand. The condition of the children in the refugee camps is not maintaining cleanliness, we are very worried, therefore we made this program, ”he explained.
In this program, various hygiene practices in maintaining health are carried out, starting from getting used to washing hands before eating, after defecating, before touching and carrying babies, and before preparing food.
This program lasts for the next month, and is located at several evacuation points and is located near public kitchens, toilets, and in front of evacuation tents. This was done, because it was in these places that refugees were usually passing by.
"Hopefully this program can run for 1 month, and my hope for this program is that refugees can avoid transmission of disease by hand," hoped Ahmad. (Dompetdhuafa.org). *
