Kuala Lumpur, 19 October 2022 – In line with the goal of Global Handwashing Day (GHD) on 15th October 2022, Lifebuoy, the world’s number one germ protection soap dedicated to promoting healthy hygiene habits, launched a programme “C Untuk Cuci Tangan: Train the Trainers” at The Grounds KL to reinforce good handwashing habits among the school children of Jabatan Kemajuan Masyarakat (KEMAS). The purpose of the “C Untuk Cuci Tangan: Train the Trainers” programme is to not only share the necessary handwashing skills with the teachers of KEMAS but also to enable them to then teach those skills to the students.
Under this programme, Unilever Malaysia through Lifebuoy partnered with Guardian to donate hygiene kits containing essential daily items such as Lifebuoy C Untuk Cuci Tangan Guidebook, Lifebuoy Antibacterial Handwash and Bar Soap, and antibacterial wipes from Guardian to Tabika KEMAS, to promote good hand hygiene and help minimize the risk of infection among school students.
The launch of the programme was officiated by Yang Berusaha Tuan Asri Bin Saleh, Director of KEMAS Wilayah Persekutuan, Ms. Lenny Chuah, Personal Care Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand (MYSGTH) Lead & Head of Malaysia, Unilever Malaysia, and Ms. Jessica Barnabas, Personal Care Head of Department, Guardian Malaysia.
Yang Berusaha Tuan Asri Bin Saleh, Director of KEMAS Wilayah Persekutuan shared, “The Ministry of Rural Development through KEMAS always emphasizes the aspect of personal hygiene and safety among the students of KEMAS. KEMAS is proud to collaborate with the private sector such as Lifebuoy on conducting such a handwashing programme for the first time. For instance, teachers who undergo the training offered by Lifebuoy Malaysia will be able to guide school children on the proper ways to wash their hands more efficiently. Indeed, teachers play crucial roles to encourage the good habit of handwashing among children from an early age.
“On top of that, the hygiene kits donated by Lifebuoy and Guardian will help to establish a first-class mindset of emphasizing personal hygiene among preschool students. With the rising of hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD), students will be reminded to utilize the hygiene kits available in school compounds to keep their hands clean from time to time. Ultimately, this is one of the good examples of how the public-private partnership takes place to ensure a healthier and cleaner environment for our future generation.”
Lenny Chuah, Personal Care Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand (MYSGTH) Lead & Head of Malaysia, Unilever Malaysia said, “As a company that prioritizes the core aspect of improving health and hygiene to protect lives and livelihoods, Unilever through Lifebuoy Malaysia hopes that the launching of the “C Untuk Cuci Tangan: Train the Trainers” programme will offer valuable insights and perspectives on championing the cause of hand hygiene education among school children. We are proud to be working with KEMAS and Guardian to increase awareness among preschoolers on the importance of washing hands to keep germs at bay. In line with our purpose to save lives, our programme will empower mothers with such awareness, knowledge, and information to help ensure that their children fall ill a little less often.
“To reaffirm the support for the United Nation’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals which aims to drive positive behavioral change around hand hygiene habits amongst children, Lifebuoy creates the theme song Mari Lebih Sihat! which is sung in local languages from various ethnic groups in our country to create the most inclusive hygiene education in Malaysia. Currently, the second phase of the Mari Lebih Sihat initiative will continue this goal to drive handwashing behavior change among children.”
To further formulate effective ways in cultivating handwashing habits among school children, Lifebuoy has partnered with schools to promote the fundamentals of hand hygiene from a child’s earliest years with its Little Chief Education Officer (CEO) initiatives. The idea stems from the understanding that children are more likely to instill this behavior when they are influenced by their peers. Thus, Lifebuoy believes that such an initiative will accelerate the impact of hand-hygiene education by improving students’ attitudes towards learning, fostering a more personalized learning experience, engaging students through cooperative learning, and leading to high retention of information.
Lenny Chuah added, “Lifebuoy believes that explaining and instilling the importance of developing lifelong hand hygiene habits among children is the best approach to preventing the spread of infectious illnesses in schools. Since the commencement of Lifebuoy’s outreach programs in 2015 across Malaysia, we have reached 536,113 kids aged 4 to 9. Driven by a larger purpose, we want to help 1 million people develop good handwashing habits by 2025.
Lifebuoy is committed to continuous innovation in its products to double down on the fight against germs. More recently, the brand also introduced the new Lifebuoy Fresh Coconut Water & Mint Antibacterial Bodywash and Lemon Fresh Antibacterial Handwash to their existing range. This will play a significant role to realize the brand’s vision to make hand washing commonplace and help the community stay safe, fresh, and germ-free.
