Promoting Hygiene to Kids in Cambodia the Fun Way via a Portable Sink

An alarming figure of 38 deaths per 1,000 live births among Cambodian children aged five and below, as reported by World Bank Data, has prompted the charity group, WaterSHED, to look for ways to lower the mortality rate.

WaterSHED has been working on the improvement of water and sanitation in Southeast Asia. They are currently looking into the problem in Cambodia and are planning on promoting hygiene in the country through the use of "Labobo" or portable sinks.

Made out of small, colorful, plastic boxes, and adorned with smiling frogs and a bright logo, the Labobo (which is a play of the French term "lavabo," meaning sink), has been specifically manufactured to entice children to develop the habit of hand washing. Washing ones hands is most especially encouraged before handling food and after using the toilet. The practice can help prevent thousands of individuals from acquiring diseases such as diarrhea, especially in Cambodia, which ranks as the lowest in terms of access to sanitation in the Southeast Asian region.

The sink has a built-in dispenser which can carry 15 liters of water. The water comes out through a low-flow spout and can be placed at a height that can be easily reached by children. It is sold at $15 per unit.

Geoff Revell, Regional Programme Manager at WaterSHED, said that, "Hand washing is an enormous opportunity to improve health because it's such a cheap and effective solution." He also thinks that using the portable sink is much better. "If you give people a bucket and a piece of soap, more often than not you will find the bucket ends up being used for something else. But if they spend some money on a product they like and actually want to own, it's much more likely that they will keep using it and form a healthy habit of washing their hands regularly," he added.  

The organization behind the Labobo came up with such a design through the suggestions of families in Mekong Delta, Vietnam, where at least 10,000 units of these portable sinks are sold every year.