Day 10: Teaching Health Class

Today was my first full day of teaching. I went to three different classrooms, Junior High School 1 and 2 as well as 4th grade. My assignment was to give a 1 hour lesson to each of them on two topics: the importance of hand-washing and malaria. I started off doing a quick recap with what they remember from their last health class. This was a few months ago and Dr. Troy taught them about oral hygiene as well as total health. I was happy that the students were able to remember and explain what they previously learned. I think health classes should be taught much more regularly here. Especially in an area where they are close to a lot of open water as well as jungle and may not be aware of the health risks or possible diseases that can come with these environments. 

Next, I moved into the first topic with a skit that showed a child playing in the dirt with a dog, then his mother calls him in to eat and he begins eating right away. The next day he is very sick. I asked the class what they saw happening. They picked up on the fact that the boy did not wash his hands before eating after he was playing in the dirt with the dog. After this we went over the necessary times we should be washing our hands. This seems like basic knowledge that we know in the U.S. and these children know it as well; however, they do not act on it. Their school bathrooms do not even have soap. . Their lack of handwashing skills are especially concerning considering the large majority of them eat with their hands. Ghanaian culture simply mixes and consumes their food with their right hand.  I think this is why many kids said we must wash our hands after we eat, but failed to say that it is important to wash them before eating.

We did a second skit where someone washed her hands real quick in a tub of water and another person washed her hands with running water and soap. We noted the difference. The skits really helped kids actively participate and stay engaged. We used sticky rice on our hands to symbolize germs. We cannot see germs but they are there. Since it is a very Christian society, I turned this into a discussion about how sinning can be a lot like germs. Our sins can affect other people just like our germs can spread to others. We ask God for forgiveness so he will cleanse our heart of sins just like we must cleanse our hands of germs. I think the kids really enjoyed making these connections.

Next we discussed malaria. During the first class I asked if anyone has had malaria before. I was shocked to find that there was no one who hadn’t had it before. Every single one of them has had it at least once. These results continued in my next two classes. From there, I asked them to describe the symptoms they experienced. We discussed areas where Malaria is most present as well as the type of people that are most at risk. Then we went through the many ways to prevent malaria in the first place. At first I was nervous about teaching the older kids but they ended up being very active participants. They asked sophisticated questions that deepened our conversations. For example, they were curious why there isn’t malaria in the U.S. Later on, when we were coming up with ways to prevent malaria one kid suggested moving to the U.S. I was like alright sure, way to think outside the box, now let’s think of some more simple ways, haha. I really enjoyed hearing their answers and getting to know them better. I felt like I was able to learn a few new things from them as well. 

There have been several outbreaks at CORM, including malaria and whooping cough. They live in such close quarters and share a lot of personal space. I have also seen them share food. Without knowing the proper ways to take care of our health, it is very easy for germs to spread, especially in schools and living environments such as CORM.