On the importance of hand washing – and beyond!

Our special guests this week were puppets brought in by Geoconda and Gladys from the Unidad Municipal de Salud Centro (UMSC), one of Quito's main public medical institutions.

It was a very animated meeting with plenty of interaction between the puppets and the kids while talking about health issues.

The doctor and nurse puppets gave children advice on how to stay healthy – by eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, washing hands often, exercising and making sure to rest when needed. They told them that if they are sick and need to see a doctor, there are places, such as the UMSC, where one can be seen for free.

But it's not all about eating well and washing one's hands - the puppets also reminded the children that it's important to receive affection from one's parents, and emotional health is as important as physical health in order to be and stay well.

The mother and children puppets talked about how important it is to be healthy – if you are ill, how can you go to school and study, let alone play with your friends? They also talked about the responsibility each of one of us has to take care of ourselves and to let others know if we're not well, so that someone can help us get better.

To finish up the puppet show, Geoconda and Gladys invited some of the children behind the screen to operate the puppets themselves. That's when it was obvious that they had all been listening very attentively! They got their puppets to ask questions to the rest of the audience and each of them improvised a final bit of advice to end the show.

The last one was the youngest puppet, Jonatan who said: “Take care of yourselves, children, health first!” Message received!

At the end of the meeting, Monica, the Cuéntamelo Todo social worker, reminded the children that we work as a platform, and if they or their parents are unsure who to talk to if they are unwell, they can talk to us and we can refer them to the right institutions.

Next week, the UMSC will be back with new puppets, this time, vegetables…to talk about the importance of eating well. They will be supported by Jerome, a leading French chef, who will be revealing to our kids what great meals you can whip up with a few affordable healthy ingredients…Keep on watching this space!