A child dies from diarrhea or pneumonia every 15 seconds. Hand washing alone could reduce diarrhea by 45 percent and pneumonia by 23 percent. Yet to many in the developing world, the link between hand washing and these life-threatening conditions is simply not known.
Upon learning of these figures, Indian actress and mother Kajol Devgan (known mononymously as “Kajol”) was shocked.
“I thought it would be something much bigger,” she said. “I thought they would say drought...or children are dying because of some great disease. But it wasn’t something like that. It was something small. It was something preventable. It was something with just a basic idea of hygiene you could prevent.”
And try to prevent it is just what she had done.
Since August 2013 the Bollywood star has become a hand washing icon of India, using her celebrity status to help boost participation in the "Help a Child Reach 5" hand washing campaign, which aims to eradicate diarrhea one village at a time.
In this video, Kajol discusses hygiene in Indian culture, and why she is optimistic that hand washing will be adopted widely, once the message is out.
To learn more or get involved, check out the "Help a Child Reach 5" campaign's video.
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Kajol: India's Hand-Washing Icon
October 24, 2013
A child dies from diarrhea or pneumonia every 15 seconds. Hand washing alone could reduce diarrhea by 45 percent and pneumonia by 23 percent. Yet to many in the developing world, the link between hand washing and these life-threatening conditions is simply not known.
Upon learning of these figures, Indian actress and mother Kajol Devgan (known mononymously as “Kajol”) was shocked.
“I thought it would be something much bigger,” she said. “I thought they would say drought...or children are dying because of some great disease. But it wasn’t something like that. It was something small. It was something preventable. It was something with just a basic idea of hygiene you could prevent.”
And try to prevent it is just what she had done.
Since August 2013 the Bollywood star has become a hand washing icon of India, using her celebrity status to help boost participation in the "Help a Child Reach 5" hand washing campaign, which aims to eradicate diarrhea one village at a time.
In this video, Kajol discusses hygiene in Indian culture, and why she is optimistic that hand washing will be adopted widely, once the message is out.
To learn more or get involved, check out the "Help a Child Reach 5" campaign's video.
