Sponsored Video: The very precious early years of a child. #helpachildreach5

With two young boys at home, you can imagine the amount of germs, dirt and unhygienic acts exchanged between the two. In Singapore, we are blessed enough to have ample liquid hand soaps, sanitizers and antibacterial sprays selling at the supermarket at affordable prices. The children are also continuously reminded in schools to keep their hands clean and are taught the proper way of hand wash. We are luxurious enough to keep ourselves healthy, and illnesses at a bare minimum. Still, the smallest sickly affair gets me all uptight and edgy each time my boys fall ill, especially if it's a virus attained by the overlooking of a simple act of washing our hands. Remember the time both boys were down with HFMD? It took a long order of constant washing of hands with the right liquid soap, and sanitizing with the right anti bacterial sprays before we got over that period. It is definitely NOT something I want to go through again.

While we are fortunate enough to be able to keep our kids healthy and safe from viruses, children in other third world countries are not as fortunate. Because of their living conditions, many of them as young as infants fall dangerously ill and lose their lives over illnesses like diarrhea and pneumonia. I cannot imagine losing my child over something that could be easily eliminated over simple acts of keeping oneself clean. Which is exactly why I emphasize a lot on hygiene with my children. Nothing can surpass the love of a mother for her child or the sadness of losing a child, especially if we have the power to control such loss.

Lifebuoy is on a mission lifesaving mission to spread the importance of good handwashing habits around the world. Most importantly, a mission that will help more children reach their 5th birthday and celebrate every child’s fifth birthday, by stopping the spread of preventable diseases which cause 5,000 children under five to die every day.

In Utari’s village in Indonesia, a tree is planted at a child’s birth. In such villages, many children lose their lives before their fifth birthday to diseases like diarrhoea that could be prevented through washing hands. All that remains, as in Utari’s case, is the tree. The simple act of hand washing can prevent many life-threatening diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia. Last year, Lifebuoy adopted Thesgora, India and by teaching healthy hand washing habits, reduced incidents of diarrhoea from 36% to 5%. 

This year, they will adopt Bitobe, Indonesia. Watch this video, and you will see just how important a simple act of washing the hands is, and how it can save millions of people especially children just by spreading the awareness.




Do your part to help children reach their birthday by sharing this video and Utari’s story on social media with #helpachildreach5. 

'Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,Nothing is going to get better. It's not.'

*This is a sponsored post by lifebuoy, but all thoughts are solely mine. I feel very strongly for this campaign, and would like to urge everybody to their bit for it.