Hello Pacha Soap Supporters,

Recently, our giving partner Imagine Burundi, shared some encouraging statistics with us. They surveyed 5 school head masters, 25 teachers, and 15 parents from Rugombo and Mugina about the impact the monthly soap donations are making. Here are the results…

Q: To what extent are you able to follow up on correct use of soap on a daily basis?
School Masters: 100% responded, “Every day.”

Q: To what extent has the soap meant better health for your students?
Teachers: 100% responded, “Very good” to “Excellent.”

Q: How do you find the quality of the hand washing education Imagine Burundi provides for the children?
School Masters: 80% responded, “Very good” to “Excellent.”

Q: To what extent has the soap program reduced sickness in your child(ren)?
Parents: 73% responded, “Very good.” 26% responded “Excellent.”

Q: Do pupils remember often to wash their hands, or do they do it with the pressure of school authorities?
School Masters: 4/5 responded, “Do it themselves.”

Q: To what extent has the soap program made an impact in your local community?
Parents: 93% responded, “Very good” to “Excellent.” Gilbert reports, “Children themselves at home are able to explain the importance of using soap during hands or body washing.” 

Q: To what extent has the soap program managed to keep more students attending school?
Teachers: 80% responded, “Excellent.” Gilbert reports, “According to teachers, you can see that pupil use soap massively with joy. These good habits of using soap at school attract them to be there.”

Q: Has the hand washing project had a positive impact on student health? If so, how?
School Masters: 100% responded, “Yes.” 80% of those said that the hand washing project has contributed to a good outcome of student attendance and that there are reduced cases of pupils missing school because of disease.

We hope these survey results have encouraged you. It is a joy to see that simple, consistent hand washing can truly make a difference! Too many children miss school due to illness brought on by a lack of proper sanitation and hygiene. UNICEF estimates that diarrhea kills one child every 30 seconds. Scientific research shows that hand washing with soap prevents diarrheal diseases in a more straightforward and cost-effective way than any single vaccine.* Through your purchases, these children (and more, as we grow!) will be spending more time at school and less time at home, sick. Thank you so much for joining with us to Raise the Bar!

With love,
Andrew and Abi