Handwashing with Soap Facilities for Villagers
As a form of handling the Covid-19 pandemic, Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI) through the Indonesia Covid-19 Pandemic Emergency Response (I-COPE) project funded by European Union, provided assistance by giving 18 Handwashing with Soap (HWWS) facilities at several points in North Halmahera Regency.
The HWWS facilities were built in several strategic locations in the village, such as schools, worship places, and village offices. This is done to support the community so that they can carry out hygiene practices easily, namely washing hands with soap as an effort to prevent the transmission of Covid-19.
The handwashing facilities that are built are also different from handwashing facilities in general. Now to wash their hands, residents don't need to touch/hold the water faucet but simply step on the pedal with their feet until the water comes out of the reservoir and liquid soap comes out of the container to prevent the spread of Covid-19 through touch.
Furthermore, WVI also provided assistance in the form of soap, trash cans, and stickers for proper and correct handwashing.
Yustus, as the head of the village, considers such a handwashing place to be developed in the new normal era because it is more hygienic.
He explained that the assistance of two HWWS facilities that WVI had provided to his village inspired him and other officials to replicate the procurement in his village.
"Initially, we planned to provide buckets and soap for the community, but seeing that the handwashing facilities provided by WVI to us were very good and their reach was wider and could be accessed by many people, we took the initiative to replicate the handwashing facilities in coordination with WVI," he said.
This has been successfully realized using village funds, and as many as 13 additional HWWS facilities have been built.
"Thank you to WVI for helping us the village government in preventing the spread of Covid-19 in our village," Yustus concluded.
Written by: Markus, Project Coordinator of I-COPE North Halmahera Wahana Visi Indonesia
Translated by: Klaudia Mawuntu, Intern Wahana Visi Indonesia
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Wahana Visi Indonesia and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union