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As a mother, it is a rewarding experience watching my children grow from tiny infants to toddlers and kids. Each day in this journey has been filled with delightful memories, documenting each milestone, squealing for every tiny progress they made and squirming with every little trouble they encountered. Yes, children are precious! Yet, there are parents in so many parts of India who never see their children grow beyond the age of 5. How truly sad and heartbreaking that is for any parent. I knew 5 years was a growth milestone for them but never quite understood the importance of the number 5 for a child’s health till now till I came across some stunning statistics. Did you know that in India annually more than 6 lakh children below the age of 5 die due to diarrhea and pneumonia? As a parent, this loss of life stuns and hurts me especially because this is entirely preventable.
A simple activity like handwashing with soap can bring down this unnecessary mortality of our children. We must make sure that we inculcate this healthy habit in all kids.
All kids must wash hands:
- After using the toilet
- Before and after eating
- When someone is suffering from cold, cough or other respiratory infections
- After playing in the park, with a pet
- After touching garbage
And we need to take this awareness forward because it can help save lives. Lifebuoy initiated the ‘Help a Child Reach 5 Campaign’ to spread awareness about this important behavior. Lifebuoy has already changed handwashing behavior of 47 million people in India since 2010. They endeavor to better this goal and make it reach more villages and cities. In this effort, they are being assisted by film actress, Kajol, who was moved to see young children losing their lives for something so trivial. Do watch Kajol’s video above and hear her share her thoughts on the topic.
To take this noble initiative forward and to help, you can:
- Speak about this cause, share the video and donate. You can make your donations online at ‘Help a Child Reach 5’. This donation will be utilized in implementing handwashing awareness programs.
- Lifebuoy in its commitment will donate an equivalent of your donation to the same program, hence your own effort no matter how small is doubled. See Lifebuoy’s Facebook page for more news, information and updates here.
- Further, every time you share this video, Lifebuoy will pay Re. 1 to handwashing programs.
As a responsible citizen and parent, do your bit in improving a child’s chances somewhere in our country to reach the age of 5 and to live a full and healthy life. It does not require much. Just like our own kids, let us work towards good health for all of India’s children.
This post has been sponsored by Lifebuoy
Rachna says 
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