A training for youth leaders of Medellin was conducted last November 17, 2020 at the Medellin Central School.
There were a total of 21 youth leaders, 11 males and 10 females who are Samahang Kabataan officials from Gibitngil, Daanlungsod, Maharuhay, Kawit, Luy-a, Antipolo, Caputatan Sur, Caputatan Norte, Panugnawan, Don Virgilio Gonzales, and two representatives of the Pag-asa Youth Association of the Philippines
The Visayas Primary Healthcare Services, Inc. organized the training as part of the project supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on COVID-19 response.
The youth play an essential role together with the BHERTs, barangay health workers, barangay nutrition scholars and other sectors in community-based COVID-19 response. Hygiene care and hygiene promotion is very important in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic so that increased awareness of the youth leaders on it can pave way for more active involvement of the youth sector in community-based COVID-19 response in their communities.
The training aimed to present to the participants the importance of hygiene and hygiene promotion during the COVID-19 pandemic, explain the significance of personal, home, food, respiratory, laundry, menstrual, and oral hygiene, introduce about sanitation, its definition and importance, discuss how to make water safe to drink by disinfection with chlorine and boiling, discuss about hygiene promotion and the components of hygiene promotion.
After the lecture, there was a workshop where the participants answered the following questions, namely, (a) What do you think you can do to maintain hygiene in your home? (b) Do you see any problems with hygiene in your community? (c) Why do you think there are such problems? and (d) What do you think can be done to address these problems?
The participants shared their answers to the workshop. They also shared about their experiences regarding practicing the health protocols. The participants said that they at first did not quite understand what is COVID-19 and were afraid they would get very sick if they get the virus. However, they realized that they can prevent themselves from getting the virus and should not be afraid of it. By observing the health protocols such as wearing of masks, practicing social distancing, handwashing, and reminding those who do not do this, to do them, they are contributing to the control of the virus in their communities. Noting of the poor environmental sanitation in some of their communities, they said they have a big role to play in keeping their own homes clean, and doing clean up drives in their communities, and promoting hygiene to as many people as possible.
The youth leaders said that they will use their facebook and messenger to do social media promotion of handwashing and hygiene to keep the virus away and make themselves remain healthy.
