The Do WASAP™ Project is a campaign to raise awareness on the importance of hand wash with soap by school-aged children, 3 – 12 years. WASAP Stands for:
W - Wet hands with clean running water;
A - Apply soap on your hands and rub them together including back of hands;
S - Scrub your hands for at least 15 to 20 seconds;
A - Apply water to your hands and rinse them;
P - Pick up a clean dry cloth an
d dry your hands or air dry them. As a Corp Member, the purpose of the NYSC scheme is to inculcate in Nigerian Youths the spirit of selfless service to the community, and to emphasise the spirit of oneness and brotherhood of all Nigerians, irrespective of cultural or social background. The Community Development Service (CDS) of the NYSC is therefore aimed at harnessing skills, creativity and innovations of Corp members through project development/ideas in their state/place of primary assignment that would either serve as direct benefit and or create awareness for the host community or place of primary assignment. It is in this spirit that this CDS project on Do WASAP was initiated. The need to raise awareness on the importance of hand washing with soap is great. Every year, globally, about 1.7 million children do not live to the age of five because of death caused by diarrhea and pneumonia. A 2012 report by the World Bank Water Sanitation Program states that, approximately 121,800 Nigerians, including 87,100 children under 5 die each year from diarrhea with 90% of the cases related to poor water sanitation and hygiene. Further, in 2013, the International Vaccine Access Centre reported, 231,00 children under the age of 5 died from diarrhea and pneumonia in Nigeria. In 2012, the World Bank reported that diarrheal disease cost Nigeria $13MN due to lost productivity including time absent from work or school, seeking medical treatment and taking care of children. In total Nigeria looses $3BN to poor water, sanitation and hygiene. Through a combination of lectures, practice, creativity, innovation and rewards Do WASAP Project hopes to entrench the culture of cleanliness in school aged children as well as building their immunity against communicable diseases such as dysentery, diarrhoea etc. As the saying goes, a healthy nation is a wealthy nation therefore as future leaders children need to be healthy and strong.
