Tippy Taps are the best!
In many parts of the world there is no running water. But of course washing your hands with soap for 20 seconds before handling food and after using the bathroom is important everywhere.
The simple but effective Tippy Tap uses very little water and can easily be put up near any kitchen or bathroom. A repurposed jerry can, a soda bottle, or a gourd with a couple of holes and a bar of soap with some string can literally save lives. The only difficulty in rural areas is that goats love to eat the soap:)
When teaching about hygiene, we use whatever people are familiar with, for example, songs, dances, tradition and religion. There’s many verses in the Bible about hand washing. The Quran instructs washing up to your elbows. Awesome. Kids, no matter where they are from, especially love the Tippy Tap when we put in a foot peddle to tip the tap. They think it’s a game and use it often while singing happy birthday twice, an easy way to remember 20 seconds. It’s all good clean fun.
Here’s a couple of pictures of tippy taps we’ve put up over the past 10 years in Indonesia, Ecuador, Uganda, Mexico, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia.
This pandemic is not over, and many of us have different theories and customs. But before we start pointing fingers, let’s at least make sure our hands are clean.
