Lifebuoy Health Institute Promote Clean and Healthy Living for Kids

Jakarta, January 27, 2011 – As one of the commitments to promoting early clean and healthy living (Perilaku Hidup Bersih dan Sehat/PHBS), PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk. through one of its brands, Lifebuoy, in cooperation with KidZania Jakarta (PT Aryan Indonesia), has launched establishment Lifebuoy Health Institute with interactive, safe and highly educative concepts. Children are taught at the institute to promote clean and healthy living: washing hands with soap.  

Establishment Lifebuoy Health Institute has been launched at KidZania Jakarta, on Thursday (27/11). Present at the event were Eka Sugiarto, Marketing Manager for Skin Cleansing, PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk., Amalia Sarah Santi, Senior Brand Manager of Lifebuoy, Ari Kartika, Chief Marketing Officer of Kidzania Jakarta, Health Expert, dr. Handrawan Nadesul who is also an activist of clean and healthy living.

Eka Sugiarto, Marketing Manager for Skin Cleansing of PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk., said in her speech that Lifebuoy is focusing on early education of clean and healthy living with the assumption that cultures instilled since childhood will still be remembered in the adulthood. In addition, Eka also sees children are enthusiastic and energetic about positive things. “Children could be the targets for promoting clean and healthy living such as washing hands with soap. If washing hands with soap is promoted since early childhood, children will feel uncomfortable for not washing their hands,” Eka said.

Establishment Lifebuoy Health Institute is the first one in Jakarta as the capital city stands in the 9th rank of 33 provinces in Indonesia for the category of province with good clean and healthy living . What’s more, Jakarta has a high population of 0-19 year children to 2.94 million of its total 8.83 million populations.

Establishment Lifebuoy Health Institute in KidZania will become a favorite place for children, and give chance to children to know and do activities of washing hands with soap correctly on the basis of active learning and first-hand role play experience. In 60 square meters, establishment with capacity of 8 persons, children are taught clean and healthy living cultures through a video screening on germ and 5 Lifebuoy healthy ways; They also could conduct experiment with Glo Germ and UV Scanner; Observe simulation of soap-making process and knowledge of soap bar contents; Conduct experiment on making and knowledge of liquid soap contents; And watch video show on experiment on comparison of fruits touched by dirty and clean hands within 20 minutes.   

After receiving the education, the children are expected to become agents of change in health. In doing activities at establishment, children are guided two KidZania trained Zupervisors. In return for those who have worked in the Lifebuoy Health Institute, children will receive salary of 10 KidZos, KidZania’s official currency.

Amalia Sarah Santi, Senior Brand Manager of Lifebuoy pinned her hope that children that have played at the Establishment Lifebuoy Health Institute could deliver health messages, especially washing hands with soap to their families and friends. “Children that have played at establishment will be authorized a degree as Health Agent. With the degree, children are motivated to promote clean and healthy living, especially washing hands with soap to their families and friends, and involve them in the play and learning of soap and its benefits,” Sarah said. 

Ari Kartika, Chief Marketing Officer of KidZania Jakarta, said KidZania is pleased to work together with Lifebuoy in the establishment, as KidZania has since early in the beginning had the same commitment to socializing and educating children to wash hands with soap for every activity. Not only is socialization and education of washing hands with soap held at Establishment Lifebuoy Health Institute, cooperation between Lifebuoy and KidZania, but also nearly all other areas. “We educate the visitors through stickers on how to wash hands with soap correctly. With the establishment, we hope the children will have more understanding on the benefits of washing hands with soap through a right simulation,” Ari said.

Health expert dr. Handrawan Nadesul said culture of washing hands with soap should be instilled since childhood. Health education should have started from how healthy habits are formed at school, family and playground. One of clean and healthy living cultures, which is crucially instilled since childhood, is washing hands with soap, preventing more than 10 fecal-oral diseases such as diarrhea. 

Diarrhea has now become the world’s second deadly disease causing death to children after respiratory diseases /pneumonia . In fact, one of the important efforts to prevent diarrhea is washing hands with soap. Based on research study by Curtis V. Cairncross, washing hands with soap could reduce the risk of diarrhea by up to 47%.

According to dr. Handrawan, activity of washing hands with soap must become people’s culture and be necessarily done after using hands in every activity. If washing hands with soap has become habit, it will affect the people’s health level.

Sarah added Lifebuoy has commitment to continuously socializing 5 Lifebuoy healthy ways: washing hands with soap before breakfast, before lunch, before dinner, when taking bath, and after using the toilet. “A small change could have a big impact if it is continuously done,” Sarah said.

Besides health, the culture of washing hands with soap could also have impact on education as diarrhea frequently causes children to be absent from school. Overseas research shows that washing hands with soap could reduce children’s absence from schools by 42 percent.  In Indonesia, the results of the research conducted by Spektra, non-government organization (NGO), to 550 students from 11 districts in East Java, show that washing hands with soap before meals could reduce by 11 percent of children absent level from schools due to diarrhea.