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Hand-washing campaign attracts North Jakarta residents
The Tirta Lestari Foundation environmental and sanitation group held a hand-washing campaign on Wednesday in a slum area in Pulo Kandang, North Jakarta, to raise awareness for World Water Day which will fall on March 22
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he Tirta Lestari Foundation environmental and sanitation group held a hand-washing campaign on Wednesday in a slum area in Pulo Kandang, North Jakarta, to raise awareness for World Water Day which will fall on March 22.
About 200 people took part in hand washing and watching videos.
Tea Naibaho, public health promoter of the foundation, said they were still putting more emphasis on their hand-washing campaign due residents’ lack of awareness on the importance of the basic health-care issue.
“70 percent of them already know to wash their hands before meals, but only 7 percent of them do so after defecating,” Tea said.
Over the past two years, she added, her foundation was working on the campaign not only in Pulo Kandang but also in Cilincing, East Jakarta, Bintaro Lama and Bintaro Baru, Tangerang, Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta and Teluk Gong,West Jakarta.
“Those areas are prone to outbreaks of diarrhea,” she said.
Noni Arkendita, water engineer at the foundation, said that today’s event also aimed to teach residents how to boil water to sterilize it and promote alternative and economical ways to get clean water.
“Using gas to boil water is expensive for them. So, we introduce them to alternative means,” Noni said.
One of the ways to sterilize raw water is by using sun light. Residents can just hang a bottle in the sun six hours for the same affect.
So far, Noni added, her foundation had about 20 “water members” in the six locations.
Nafiah, one of the Pulo Kandang residents and a water member, said that another water sterilization method, Air RahMat, had helped her family deal with the high price of tap water.
Air RahMat is a liquid that kills bacteria in raw water.
“[Air RahMat] only costs about Rp 5,000 [50 US cents] and lasts for months,” Nafiah said.
Data from the Public Works Ministry reveals that PDAM (the regional tap water provider) is only available in 45 percent of Indonesia’s urban areas and costs Rp 7,000 per-cubic-meter.
