There have been several activities within the Hygiene Promotion Program as part of SurfAid’s Mentawai tsunami recovery activities, of which AusAID is the lead funder.

One was a campaign for hand-washing with soap using flowing water in an elementary school that involved Grades IV and V students. Aulan Fikro Islami, 12, who lives in Sagitsi Timur hamlet, was one of the Grade V students of Nemnem Leleu School.

Aulan’s father Hesto HS, 40, works as a government unit head (kaur) in the village. His mother is Nirmawati, who is the head of PPKBD (Pembantu Pelaksana Keluarga Berencana Desa ‘village family planning assistance’) and also the head of PWI (Persatuan Wanita Indonesia ‘Indonesian women’s union’) in the village.

A SurfAid team that also consisted Nemnem Leleu schoolteachers conducted the campaign for hand-washing with soap (HWWS) using running water. Aulan was elected as the head of the group and his task was to be a model and to monitor his members in practicing at their homes.


SurfAid staff at Nemnem Leleu School

Aulan, who was elected group head, with SurfAid's handwashing song

After he returned home from school, Aulan told his father what he had learned about HWWS using running water. He also asked his father to make a hand-washing facility. A week later, his father had made it using a large plastic container and a pipe that has enabled the family members to wash their hands easily. They have been able to practice HWWS using running water in a practical and simple way.

According to Aulan’s mother Nirmawati, the hand-washing facility that her husband made has been used by all family members for hand-washing with soap before meals, after meals, wudlu (wash before praying) and after other activities. Hopefully it can change the family behaviour and that hand-washing with soap can become a daily routine.


Nirmawati uses the new handwashing facility