Bushra's Story - Hygiene

Bushra attended regular hygiene sessions which were conducted by her schoolteacher, Ms. Nazia who is an active member of WASH Committee in her village formed by WaterAid. When Bushra got the information of good hygiene practices, she became a role model not only at her school but for her family and community in raising awareness and guiding the others for the basic hygiene practices. She is still an active participant of these trainings now.

I have 5 sisters who are elder than me but neither they nor anyone else at my home knew about good hygiene practices. This was normal for everyone at our family and our village.

BUT then,

I attended the hygiene sessions conducted at my school by our schoolteacher Ms. Nazia. These sessions were so engaging and supported by visuals that I got more and more involved in all this. It’s when I came to know that the usual Kidney and stomach disorders which are very common in our village are due to bad hygiene practices and dirty water. Knowing that our community had least awareness about basic hygienic practices, I became more determined to change this for everyone in my circle.

I started from my family by educating them about importance of handwashing especially during the COVID times, before and after meals, after using the latrines, cleaning the water pot they carry for collection of water and managing personal hygiene by keeping the nails and hair clean. I also supported my father in cleaning his shop so that he can be protected from germs at his workplace. But, this was not the limit. I conveyed the same awareness messages to other girls at my school and in my village as well. When other villagers come to me for any guidance related to hygiene, my parents and even my grandmother take pride in it and tell others that our daughter knows it all!

I aspire to be a medical doctor when I grow up so that I can be able to treat people in my village who get ill due to poor hygiene practices and have to travel few hours to access the nearby doctor. Even, in some cases people have lost their lives while waiting for the medical support.