Can You Change Someone's Habit in Just 6 Months? Clean the World Foundation Has!

Who would have guessed in just six months there would be a 97% reduction in diarrheal diseases among kids in India?!

A number like this is incredible and truly lifesaving. Our partner, Clean the World Foundation, along with their on-the-ground partner, World Vision, have been implementing their WASH education and access throughout the slums of Kolkata and villages in the Bihar State in India serving 5,000 kids in 36 schools. Seeing this percentage is a huge win in the battle to reduce the number of preventable deaths in children due to diseases that can be combated simply by practicing proper hygiene.

WASH Education Programs launched in 2016 serving around 9,000 students in Kenya and Tanzania. Programs have since expanded to other countries such as India, Haiti and more. These programs deliver hygiene education to students every two weeks and are paired with soap donations to expand good hygiene practices outside the classroom doors. They perform 90-day evaluations over a 9-month period to track the impact of the programs on reductions in hygiene related illnesses as well as the improvement in school attendance. The positive effect these programs have had on students in the communities in need are nothing short of amazing and you help make it possible!

WASH programs are supported by your Soapbox purchases and the impact you’ve had on these thousands of lives is remarkable. These programs provide access to education, sanitation, water and hygiene products to truly make the most of their efforts to better the livelihood of these children. With a focus on behavior change, the WASH programs in India have shown that more than 80% of students are now practicing proper hygiene without any reminders or prompts! This is remarkable! And not only are the kids making it a habit, but their parents are too. In fact, more than 70% of parents of the children involved in the programs in India are using WASH practices without any nudges or reminders. Creating a habit can be challenging, but these programs and their practices to make proper hygiene a daily routine without additional thought are working and improving lives.

Clean the World Foundation and World Vision will continue to monitor and gauge the success of their WASH Program initiatives in India over the next few months, but we are so thrilled to celebrate this six-month victory! Thank you for loving our soaps and believing in our mission to make Soap=Hope. Your purchases are saving lives, changing minds and instilling that steps to a better livelihood can start with something as simple as washing your hands.

Click here to read more about Clean the World Foundation’s WASH efforts.