Volunteers Teach Health Lessons

Last Thursday and Friday, we were happy to welcome four volunteers from Signapore: Linda Ong, Michael Foo, and Benson and Lynda Soh. They made a large donation of stationary and medical supplies and Ms. Ong, who works as a nurse in Singapore, educated staff and students about basic first aid and personal hygine. In slum areas, many children suffer from tooth decay, head lice and frequent illnesses that could be prevented with basic measures like regular washing and tooth brushing. Additionally, even minor ailments can become serious problems for children who live in poor conditions and have limited access to medical care. For these reasons, it’s important both that students understand how to keep themselves healthy and that staff are trained to support them. Friday morning, Ms. Ong led a class for staff members including the housemothers and kindergraten teachers. This class instructed the staff on how to prefrom basic first aid and showed them how to assist the children in practicing good hygeine. In the afternoon, Ms. Ong taught the kindergarten and grade school students and Get Ready girls how to properly wash their hands, brush their teeth and care for the hair. By teaching students how to take care of themselves and stay healthy, Ms. Ong and the volunteers from Singapore provided a truly valuable lesson that will hopefully stay with the students and staff or Riverkids for a long time to come.