Save a child today - support Global Handwashing Day

Clean hands save lives.

No, I'm not just talking about deadly strains of the dreaded Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) or the pain the disease inflicts on both children and adult alike.

One of the notices I received this year from my girl's preschool

Nor am I exaggerating the importance of washing hands.

For me, washing hands has always been a matter of hygiene and my hope to keep germs away so that my children remain healthy.

Lifebuoy handwash kills 99.9% of germs in just 10 seconds

Washing hands after a night cycling practice

I have never thought that such a simple action of handwashing can save lives, until I chanced upon this:

UNICEF estimates that diarrhoea kills 1.1 million children every year, and pneumonia-related illnesses take another 1.2 million child lives. Handwashing with soap prevents disease in a more straightforward and cost-effective way than any single vaccine. (Source: UNICEF, italics mine)

We are blessed to be in Singapore, where we have clean sanitation and we live in a clean and green environment. We are in a situation where it is difficult to even fathom that handwashing can have such a huge impact on lives, and yet there are more than 2 million children - over 80% of these deaths occur in South Asia and Africa - who do not live to celebrate their 5th birthday, many of which could be saved by a simple act of washing hands with soap.

Every year, Global Handwashing Day (GHD) - an initiative by Lifebuoy - is celebrated on 15 October in over 100 countries around the world. This is done to raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing in a bid to save children's lives and promote a global culture of handwashing with soap.

For five consecutive years now, Unilever, through its Lifebuoy brand, has sought to bring hygiene education through school programmes to children across 10 countries in Africa (together with Millennium Villages Initiative) in the hope to save young children from potentially fatal diseases caused by poor hand hygiene.

This year's GHD message is - Help a child reach 5, by pledging on Lifebuoy's Facebook page.

With every pledge, Lifebuoy will commit to teach a child hygiene education through PSI, a Unilever Foundation Partner.

One at a time, we will help these children reach their 5th birthdays.

We have all heard of the starfish story:

Source

Let us try to help make a difference to a child's life today. The difference you can make is not just improving their lives because by pledging today, you are giving them the best gift in life - life itself.

The pledge will not cost you a single cent, but it would mean so much to a child out there. Do you have time to spare to save a child's life today?

Let's celebrate the 5th birthday of every child who wins this fight.

Click HERE to take the pledge.

NTUC U Family (and $30 NTUC vouchers giveaway!)

Earlier in one of my posts, I mentioned that I have the honour of being a NTUC U Family Blog Champion this year to promote the building of strong and happy families in Singapore.

As a U family member, you can look forward to family bonding events, networking lunches for like-minded working parents and interest group get-togethers. U Family makes networking accessible, parenting information available and most importantly, family activities affordable. After all, what binds the family together best is an activity that the whole family can take part in.

Now I know you're thinking that you hate crowds and don't need to attend events to bond as a family?

Well, I'd say you are half right (and by the way, I used to think just like you!).

It's true that you don't need to attend mega events to bond as a family. But if you are usually strapped for time and don't have time to think of fun activities to do as a family or you are simply tired of bringing your children to the same old playground - going to the shopping centre together hardly counts as a bonding activity by the way, you may want to re-think how you feel about attending mega events.

My hubby and I are hardly crowd-lovers and we were apprehensive about having to attend a mega event but NTUC U Family's U Picnic at the Marina Barrage has changed our impression of such events. Not only did we have the usual fun of a picnic, we managed to soak in the wonderful atmosphere of family warmth that evening, watching many other families enjoying themselves too at the event. And the event venue was so well chosen, we hardly felt that there was a crowd despite the fact that there were thousands of people there that day!

My lil boss at the U Picnic

We had so much fun at the picnic that we'll be attending the U family's Mega Dance too!

Date : 24 Nov 2012

Time : 7:00 PM
Venue : The Coliseum™, Hard Rock Hotel® Singapore

So you say you are still not convinced. I say, why not just sign up as a U family member first? After all sign up's free (and it even comes with a free gift till 31/12/12, yippee!) and you can just wait for an event that interests you!
And now here's the deal that you've been waiting for!

Win yourself a $30 NTUC voucher today!

Here's how:

1. Like Simply Mommie's Facebook page (if you haven't already done so).

2. Share this post on Facebook and tag Simply Mommie (for those unsure how to share the post: there's a row of social media icons at the bottom of the post, click the facebook icon. Still lost? Simply copy this blog post's url and paste it in your Facebook status update box!)

3. Join U Family for free, and receive updates on latest events and promotions for families. A welcome gift awaits all sign-ups till 31 December 2012. (Edited 17/10/12: If you are currently a U Family member but would like to take part in this giveaway, please use a family member's name for the registration instead as this is only for new sign-ups.)

4. Leave a comment on this blog post with your email address (do this if you want to be contacted should you win!). Those without any Google accounts may email me at simplymommie@gmail.com. Please use the same email address used for registration for U Family for verification.

More good news!

If there are more than 20 participating entries, ONE more $30 NTUC voucher will be given out! That makes a total of TWO vouchers to be won! Share the good news with your friends today!

Terms and Conditions

1. This giveaway runs from 15 October - 21 October (2359hrs) and is open to readers of Simply Mommie who are residing in Singapore only.
2. This is sponsored and managed by U Family and its representing agency Dice Studio LLP.
3. Winners will be announced on 24 October on Simply Mommie's Facebook page and contacted via email.
4. All decisions made are final.
5. U Family and Dice Studio LLP reserve the right to change the contents and the terms & conditions of the giveaway without prior notice.