Children versus mosquitos

World Health • 49th Year, No.4, July-August 1996 19 Children versus mosquitos Verity Beckles Pupils of the L. T. Gay Memorial School in Barbados separate garbage at the point of disposal. We in our small island nation know how important it is to fight against all types of diseases and environmental hazards, and to work for a healthier world. There is no better way to succeed in this than to educate our children at an early age. That is why the L.T. Gay Memorial Primary School near Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados, was pleased to become one of the many pilot schools in the Caribbean to be involved in community-based dengue prevention and control. Health education which leads to good health practices should be everyone's business. Despite the emphasis of primary school educa- tion on "the three Rs", with a concen- tration of effort on assisting pupils through the Common Entrance Examination at age eleven, our school has devoted much time to the Environmental Health and Vector Control Curriculum. We chose the integrated subject approach because weekly 45-minute sessions on health education proved inadequate. This "infusion" approach was used in social studies, mathematics and agricultural science, and it helped pupils to express themselves through art, poetry, composition and craft. The theme chosen was REDUCE, RECYCLE and REUSE. Since the mosquitos that transmit dengue may thrive in rubbish tips, our goal was to reduce the amount of garbage that was being collected daily by the sanitation workers. We introduced garbage separation, setting apart plastics, paper and non- combustibles. Combustible materi- als were incinerated and the ashes were applied to the garden beds as fertilizer. In the craft programme we used plastic drinks bottles as vases, aquaria, candle-holders and a variety of other household items. To avoid wasteful use of water, they were also used in the school garden as funnels to channel irrigation water down to the roots of the crop plants. Comments from parents revealed that their children had taught them many ways of controlling vectors and some important facts about dengue fever. Parents and teachers also said their children assumed the role of health inspectors, searching their surroundings and looking for mosquito breeding places. They often collected larvae for study, informed the local authorities, and eliminated breeding sites. District public health inspectors arranged visits to the local neigh- bourhood, and these gave the pupils first-hand knowledge of good and bad health practices in the commu- nity. The inspectors also gave in- struction to the janitors and school meals staff about vector control and safe food-handling methods. Two exhibitions at the school and the wealth of knowledge shown by the pupils on various health topics were proof of the dedication and hard work of the teachers. The pupils' pictures, poems and compositions showed how strongly they felt about things that affect their health. One of the difficulties which the school faced initially was the reser- vation expressed by teachers about adding a new topic to the already busy health programme. However, in time the project received the fullest support of the teachers. It is clear that, for maximum effect, health-promoting schools need to formulate long-term plans. • Mrs Verity Beckles is a teacher at L. T. Gay Memorial School, St Michael, Barbados.