Margaux, a long-term volunteer (LTV) writes to us again about an awareness raising activity on sanitation she has been carrying out for children in the Kanchipuram District of Tamil Nadu. 

      “On 17th June 2014, I (Ms. Margaux, LTV volunteer working in Water and Sanitation with FSL-India) continued my journey towards promoting good hygienic methods towards achieving better sanitary conditions among children in Panchayat Union Primary School in Thenneri, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu.

     I found that puppetry is a good medium to get the attention of children which make them attentive to the issue addressed. On this finding, we conducted a puppetry show for the children belonging to the 8-9 years age group in Thenneri. It is a kind of fairy tale telling to the children through puppets. I drew the characters of the tale and made the puppets by sticking the pictures drawn on the stick.

      It is the story of the kingdom in which the people fell ill all of a sudden and the reason for their illness was anonymous. The princess Stella asked the wise Horseman of the kingdom to roam through the kingdom to find out the cause of the disease and how to cure it. He travelled across many lands and seas, finally found that the water which was supplied for drinking purpose from the pond caused the illness. He met the magician on the way back and the magician made the soap out of magic and asked the horseman to give to the people for use. He further insisted the horseman when and how it had to be used like before eating food and cooking; after going to the toilet etc. Then the horseman met the doctor who insisted that the water has to be boiled before drinking; he also explained how the water is getting polluted such as through open defecation etc. Finally the horseman came back to meet the people and insisted the personal hygiene methods to keep away from diseases. He left the message that “PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE”. 

      I am really excited to convey the message through puppets by acting out as the puppets behind the screen. Of course, FSL-India Chennai Team helped me with Tamil voice over. I am very happy to make the children to be attentive to hear the fairy tale story through the puppets. I believe that they carry the message and not only follow the personal hygiene themselves but also spread among their friends as well.”