What is a Tippy Tap, you may ask? It's a handy-dandy plastic container with a hole punched in it and a rope tied around it so that the water can be tipped out by pressing a stick on the ground using your foot (and hence not your dirty fingers!).
Our "Tippy Tap Time" started by not having proper handwashing facilities at TOT3 in Kalongo. And then again, not having a proper handwashing facilities at Bishop Lee Theological College.
Now this Tippy Tap is not only special because it's at our centre, but because it's the first one made by Marianne (though with help from Patel, who dug the holes, and Mike how advised on where to punch the holes in the container).
To combat this, Marianne piloted a Sunday School training a few weeks at at our church. She joined the children's church and shared a lesson on how God wants us to be healthy, how germs spread on dirty hands, and how we can prevent getting sick. Then she took them outside and taught them how to use the Tippy Tap properly, and gave the Sunday school 4 ID badges and a small plastic container, each bearing the name "Team Tippy Tap!" The idea is that every Sunday, the children get to take turns being responsible for teaching other children (and adults!!) how to use the Tippy Tap, and also to fill it up when it gets empty. We wanted to not just discourage the children from misusing it, but empower them to be change-makers themselves!
The results? Only preliminary so far, but so far, so good! The Tippy Tap is still standing, which is a testimony in itself! But the bigger testimony is that all the kids really do know how to use it, and it is staying filled up, and we do think there's much more handwashing going on on Sunday mornings...perhaps some more than strictly necessary, but better to have too much handwashing than too little, wouldn't you agree?
If this pilot works, we think it could be a great little project to do at other churches. The main advantage of doing it at churches is that it provides a central place where both adults and children can be exposed to using the Tippy Tap and experiencing it for themselves. Then we could provide training so it can be copied in the homes.