- The Three Stones programme delivers easily-understood quality training to volunteers from rural communities. It covers basic skills that people in the village can practice to achieve improved family health status.
- It emphasises the intricate relationship between safe water, proper personal hygiene and household sanitation, together with a balanced diet.
- It teaches parents how to train their
children in a life-style of good health practices. This promotes generational, sustainable teaching of behaviour and attitude change, passed on from parent to child.
- It uses resources available in the community which promotes affordability, sustainability, social acceptability and technological appropriateness.
- Volunteers are selected from churches in all denominations. Working through the churches is seen as advantageous for the following reasons;
Churches generally are concerned with the welfare of the community. Churches in Uganda are known to have credibility in rural settings. Churches provide another channel of communication on health issues. The training sessions take place in local communities and include:
- How to differentiate between clean water and safe water.
- How to make a 'Tippy Tap' for improved hand washing techniques.
- How to make a 'Fly Trap' for reduction of fly borne diseases.
- How to maintain a latrine.
- How to keep homes and compounds clean and tidy.
- How to implement good nutrition as part of disease prevention.
- How to improve farming methods for greater diversity
- How to prevent HIV/AIDS, malaria, diarrhoea and child mortality by applying the 'Three Stones' philosophy.
