Hygiene and Sanitation, Yangon, Myanmar

Almost 2 million children in the world under the age of 5 die each year from diarrheal diseases and pneumonia, As summarized by the CDC, handwashing with soap could protect about 1 out of every 3 young children who get sick with diarrhea and almost 1 out of 5 young children with respiratory infections like pneumonia. Very few people around the world clean their hands with soap which is far more effective in removing germs than using water alone. Project Kalay worked with monastic schools in and around Yangon, Myanmar to teach the importance of proper hand washing and to improve access to soap. Buddhist monasteries provide critical education to poorer children without the means to purchase books and attend governmental schools. The value of basic hygiene is even greater within a lesser developed health care delivery system. The success of the program relied on education and support of the monastery leaders as well as local implementation by the teachers and older students. I returned to Myanmar several times to photograph the establishment and progression of this educational program prior to the pandemic and the military coup and governmental crisis of 2021.