Elmo delivers life-saving messages on clean water, hygiene and sanitation

“The Elmo toys have sparked interest in the students to attend lessons and pay attention. We have seen so much improvement in students’ performance,” he says.

Over the past few weeks, the Tickle-Me Elmo toys have helped the children of Mandondo Primary School to learn critical behaviours such as wearing sandals to go to the toilet and safe water storage. “Students have started wearing shoes for hygiene’s sake, unlike in the past,” says Mr Nabuyanda. “They wash their hands after using the toilet without anyone reminding them, because they now know the importance of sanitation and hygiene.”

Children have also been encouraged to take healthy habits home and teach their parents and siblings, increasing the program’s impact. “The students have influenced their communities by telling their parents to put handwashing facilities near the toilets and have rubbish pits,” says Mr Nabuyanda.

For Nachoombe and her friends, the delivery of Elmo toys has brought much laughter and fun to their lessons about clean water and improved sanitation and hygiene. “We love to learn about sanitation and hygiene with Elmo. I don’t get sick ... like I did in the past,” she explains happily.

Nachoombe dreams of one day being a nurse, and with the help of Elmo, she’s learning important lessons to carry into her future.

On behalf of the children of Mandondo Primary School and thousands of others across Zambia, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Iraq, we would like to thank HeadStart International. Your generous donation of Tickle-Me Elmo toys has brought colour, joy and excitement to classrooms around the world, and is helping to deliver life-saving messages to children and their communities. 

About WASH-UP!

By harnessing the power of both organisations – Sesame Workshop as the largest informal educator of children in the world and World Vision as the leading non-governmental provider of clean drinking water in the developing world – the partnership delivers critical health lessons tailored to the specific needs of vulnerable populations.

Across 15 countries, Elmo and his friend Raya are pioneering conversations about clean water, handwashing with soap and proper latrine use. With the help of Elmo, we have the unique ability to engage with children, model behaviours, and share important information about health and sanitation.

The WASH-UP! key learnings

Fun is “sticky”

Kids respond best when they’re having fun while they learn. Delivering hygiene and sanitation behaviour-change messages within games and colourful toys encourages learning to “stick”, with greater engagement and retention. And there’s something magical about Sesame Street – when children learn something from their friends Elmo and Raya, they’re more likely to take their messages about healthy habits to heart. Emotional drivers are powerful motivators and can have a lasting impact on a person’s behaviour and the development of good habits.

Children are change agents

At World Vision, we know that children can be powerful agents of positive change in communities. Because of this, a critical part of our WASH program includes outreach to schools. We’ve learned that children can not only receive important messages about healthy habits, but they can also deliver these messages effectively to their brothers, sisters and parents. By doing this, they can dramatically change the health of a community.

Simple habits, transformative impact

Handwashing, drinking clean water, wearing sandals to the toilet – with the right infrastructure in place, children have the decision-making power to practice each of these simple actions, and these simple actions can have measurable impact on child health outcomes. Proper hygiene is an easy, effective, and affordable “do-it-yourself vaccine” that prevents infections and saves lives. When it comes to behaviour change, the simplest interventions can be the best.