Zoomkids Club members participate in 59th Independence parade
Zoomlion Foundation sponsored 32 Zoomkids Club members of 20 females and 12 males from Sowah Din Cluster of Schools to take part in Ghana’s 59th Independence Anniversary Day parade.
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The foundation is the corporate social responsibility wing of Zoomlion and Jospong Group of Company.
Established in 2008, the Zoomkids Club Project is the flagship project of the Zoomlion Foundation, which seeks to educate and actively engage schoolchildren as agents of change for sanitation improvement in schools and communities in Ghana.
It is made up of environmental sanitation clubs operating in schools in all the 10 regions of Ghana, and it is currently operational in over 400 schools in the country. The ultimate aim of the Zoomkids Club project is to raise the standard of environmental sanitation in our communities to appreciable levels
Activities
The Zoomlion Foundation provides funding for Zoomkids Club activities such as environmental education, school compound beautification, study trips, quizzes on environmental sanitation, clean-up activities, and the supply of sanitation improvement logistics to schools.
The Programme Officer of Zoomlion Foundation, Mr Thomas N. Korley, explained that the participation of the Zoomkids Club members was an opportunity for them to learn the true meaning and essence of independence and make them feel they can do great things for Ghana. He added that it was also an occasion for Club members to tell other kids about what they did as clubbers and contribute to national consciousness on environmental sanitation management.
Matilda Kubi, who is a Club Patron and a School Health Education Programme (SHEP) Coordinator, expressed her gratitude to Zoomlion Foundation for sponsoring the children to participate in the independence parade and was of the view that continuous sensitisation and awareness creation among schoolchildren would yield a lot of positive results.
Rationale behind Zoomkids Clubs Programme
The rationale behind the introduction of the Zoomkids Clubs in basic schools includes raising awareness of environmental sanitation and hygiene in schools and communities.
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Schoolchildren are actively involved as advocates and agents of change for hygiene and sanitation practices in the schools and the communities. The ultimate aim is to raise the standard of environmental sanitation in our communities to appreciable levels. Children are naturally inquisitive and eager to learn new things.
They should therefore be encouraged to actively participate in open discussions about environmental sanitation and, wherever possible, to share their experiences and ideas with their peers and family members. Schoolchildren can be powerful advocates for behaviour change among their peers, family members and the wider community.
The Zoomkids Programme is based on the belief that children are far more receptive to new ideas because they are at an age where they can be influenced to cultivate the habits of good personal hygiene (catch them young). Personal hygiene practices are usually acquired during childhood and that it is much easier to change the habits of children than those of adults. The promotion of personal hygiene and environmental sanitation within schools can help children to adopt good habits during the formative years of their childhood.
Compared to adults, children can more easily change their behaviours and/or develop new long-term behaviours as a result of increased knowledge and facilitated practices.
Children suffer the most from hygiene-related ailments. Intestinal worm infestations, schistosomiasis, diarrhoea and diseases which afflict children of school-going age are attributable to lack of clean water supply, inadequate sanitation and its accompanying poor personal and environmental hygiene practices.
Malaria for instance, has a dramatic effect on school attendance. Children miss school when they have the disease and also when they have to stand in for their sick parents, working in the field or at home. Eye infections, especially trachoma, are common among school children and repeated infections during childhood are a key causative factor in the blindness which trachoma often causes later in life. All these diseases have long-term consequences on the child's health, compromise their school attendance and performance and, not uncommonly, can result in death.
It must be noted, however, that hygiene promotion in schools cannot rely solely on teaching and enforcing certain habits. Children may be more willing to change their behaviours if they follow their peers, and if they have fun. Imitation is one of the most important and successful forms of learning, and hence young children will look to their older siblings or to their older school friends to adopt new behaviours and life skills.
Membership of Zoomkids Clubs
Membership of the club is open to pupils in Primary and Junior High Schools, both public and private, from Primary One to Junior High School. Zoomkids Clubs consist of a representative group of the school population in respect of gender, socio-economic background, religious or ethnic groups as well as children with disabilities.
There is no discrimination as to who should become a club member. This approach may lead to a better motivated and more representative school health Clubs.
Some Benefits of Zoomkids Clubs Programme
The Zoomkids Club Programme is to help ensure that water and sanitation facilities in the schools, homes and communities are properly used, cleaned and maintained. Club members learn how to use facilities and explain same to the younger children in the school and in the home.
Zoomkids Clubs can provide more opportunities for participation in environmental sanitation and hygiene than traditional classroom learning. The Clubs can be more fun for children where, for example, they are involved in games and quizzes and “what do you know?” competitions on environmental sanitation and hygiene-related issues.
Being a member of Zoomkids Clubs can also help children develop leadership skills and help them to determine their own priorities for sanitation and hygiene activities.
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Perhaps the most important part is that environmental sanitation and hygiene education would be treated as an approach to life rather than an academic subject that can be taught with a focus on theory and written examinations. Invariably, health promotion messages t delivered to Zoomkids Clubs go hand in hand with practice.
The activities of the Clubs are also important for the social growth and development of Club members. This is a better way to stay connected, active and focused as Club members associate with their peers to enjoy fun and share common interests. By creating a congenial atmosphere for Club members to interact with each other, shy pupils can find some benefit in experimenting with one or two activities of the Club.
Zoomkids Club is an important area of life where Club members define their identity and expand their horizons. It helps define Club members’ interests and also allows positive bonding experiences for the future by building positive identities. Members make new friends, and also learn new cultural experiences or new skills. Club members learn interpersonal skills, which help build healthy self-esteem.