CEO of As I Grow, Debrah Bekoe, helps some children in some rural communities with PPPEs
After being alerted about the lingering threat from the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is becoming increasingly clear that the public’s response to the President’s address and routine briefing on the COVID-19 situation is turning positive and encouraging.
At least, checks by the Daily Statesman along the streets and in public transport have confirmed that.
That picture, extended to our schools and workplaces, give an indication that the infection rate is likely to diminish, if we do not relapse into our initial lethargy.
General safety protocols
As we are all aware, there are basic protocols that all citizens and groups or public places are required to comply with. These include using sanitizers, washing our hands under running water, social distancing and wearing of nose masks.
Because kids are vulnerable and tend to have immunity challenges, teachers have already been made aware about the need to rigidly enforce existing protocols for school kids. And they have been excellent at that, as reports generally indicate.
Parent initiative
Between the home and school, however, kids without sufficient monitoring and guidance may carry over ‘slips’ into the classroom environment, hence the need for parents to prepare their kids as they come back. And particularly because playing and feeding at school, sometimes, involve sharing in one form or the other, utmost care is required in sanitising the environment as these kids return to school. That undeniably is where parents need to be active in complementing the work of teachers.
From the kindergartens and crèches to the primary schools and junior high schools, however, the task could be very demanding, unless parents become more responsible and alert in preparing the kids straight from home to understand the issues and imbibe basic safety measures that will jell with the measures being put in place at the various educational facilities to protect kids.
As we may conjecture, kids moving from home to school face certain temptations, particularly regarding snacks they may be buying along the route – whether they are solid or liquid, hot or cold.
Tips
While the situation may be more manageable in the case of infants attending the crèches or kindergarten, it may be tricky for those buying on school markets, except we rigidly monitor the situation to ensure that the teenagers do not buy along the streets for the time being in their own interests.
This is because while school feeding facilities can be controlled, those peddling food along the streets may be difficult to monitor and, therefore, rendering the situation inherently dangerous.
For those parents who can, supplying the kids with their own water and food containers or even food and water will not be a luxury, but a lifesaving obligation.
Additionally, they may visit the schools where they attend and familiarise themselves with the compliance levels, so that parents connect with the situation and possibly offer suggestions in improving monitoring and enhancing compliance in the interests of the kids and that of the public.
Quality sanitation in schools
Unfortunately, sanitation in public places, including our schools and markets and, unfortunately, our state institutions, cannot be said to be quality. However, in the case of our public schools, it is appalling.
That is also why we need to improve the sanitation situation in schools, particularly the public schools.
As the President pointed out, we must not, as citizens only, concern ourselves with our only economic activities; we must equally be alert about our health and life as we play our individual and collective roles in partnering government to develop Ghana
That is why at this point, the Daily Statesman believe parents must be in the centre of sustaining the fight against the pandemic.
PARENTS MUST GET INVOLVED IN
PROTECTING KIDS FROM HOME
After being alerted about the lingering threat from the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is becoming increasingly clear that the public’s response to the President’s address and routine briefing on the COVID-19 situation is turning positive and encouraging.
At least, checks by the Daily Statesman along the streets and in public transport have confirmed that.
That picture, extended to our schools and workplaces, give an indication that the infection rate is likely to diminish, if we do not relapse into our initial lethargy.
General safety protocols
As we are all aware, there are basic protocols that all citizens and groups or public places are required to comply with. These include using sanitizers, washing our hands under running water, social distancing and wearing of nose masks.
Because kids are vulnerable and tend to have immunity challenges, teachers have already been made aware about the need to rigidly enforce existing protocols for school kids. And they have been excellent at that, as reports generally indicate.
Parent initiative
Between the home and school, however, kids without sufficient monitoring and guidance may carry over ‘slips’ into the classroom environment, hence the need for parents to prepare their kids as they come back. And particularly because playing and feeding at school, sometimes, involve sharing in one form or the other, utmost care is required in sanitising the environment as these kids return to school. That undeniably is where parents need to be active in complementing the work of teachers.
From the kindergartens and crèches to the primary schools and junior high schools, however, the task could be very demanding, unless parents become more responsible and alert in preparing the kids straight from home to understand the issues and imbibe basic safety measures that will jell with the measures being put in place at the various educational facilities to protect kids.
As we may conjecture, kids moving from home to school face certain temptations, particularly regarding snacks they may be buying along the route – whether they are solid or liquid, hot or cold.
Tips
While the situation may be more manageable in the case of infants attending the crèches or kindergarten, it may be tricky for those buying on school markets, except we rigidly monitor the situation to ensure that the teenagers do not buy along the streets for the time being in their own interests.
This is because while school feeding facilities can be controlled, those peddling food along the streets may be difficult to monitor and, therefore, rendering the situation inherently dangerous.
For those parents who can, supplying the kids with their own water and food containers or even food and water will not be a luxury, but a lifesaving obligation.
Additionally, they may visit the schools where they attend and familiarise themselves with the compliance levels, so that parents connect with the situation and possibly offer suggestions in improving monitoring and enhancing compliance in the interests of the kids and that of the public.
Quality sanitation in schools
Unfortunately, sanitation in public places, including our schools and markets and, unfortunately, our state institutions, cannot be said to be quality. However, in the case of our public schools, it is appalling.
That is also why we need to improve the sanitation situation in schools, particularly the public schools.
As the President pointed out, we must not, as citizens only, concern ourselves with our only economic activities; we must equally be alert about our health and life as we play our individual and collective roles in partnering government to develop Ghana
That is why at this point, the Daily Statesman believe parents must be in the centre of sustaining the fight against the pandemic.
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