Knar School finally gets a dedicated space for cleaning up!


Leg wounds caused by infected rashes, easily cured by washing daily with soap

During the course of the last year, we have seen many children at Knar School suffering from leg wounds. Most students must journey through the fields to get to school and during the course of this walk, they get manure, pesticides, etc on their skin, which then breaks out into a rash which they then scratch, opening wounds, which then become infected. In some children it’s been so severe that they have gotten systemic infections, necessitating trips to the hospital and/or first aid at school. After a little investigating, we see that the vast majority of students do not have sufficient access to clean water or soap at home to manage this situation.

The students at Knar have been washing outside in plastic basins for about a year and over the course of that time, they have seen for themselves the benefit of keeping their legs clean. No more itchy sores! Barbara Shooter, long-time volunteer for PLF at Knar, has been involved all through this process, both in managing washing and performing first aid. Recently Barbara raised the funds to build a proper washing station near a well that is not used much. Visitors Tony and Kerrie Meehan arrived just in time to help us erect the structure. The teachers and staff at the school gave up their Holiday on Independence Day Weekend and the project was knocked out in short order.

Completed washing and first aid station at Knar School

A little soap and water goes a long way~!