Community Improvement & Capacity Building

Hello, my name is Melinda. I have two kids, Emely, who is 12, and Erick, who just turned one. I lost my husband to COVID when my youngest baby was 6 weeks old. My sister-in-law recommended me to the Early Head Start program at The Child Center of NY.

Public health advice on handwashing during the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult for many living in rural communities to follow without a running water supply. Here, members of the WaterAid Bangladesh team introduce their manual of easy-to-use, context-based handwashing devices designed to overcome challenges of affordability and accessibility to include everyone. Since the onset of COVID-19 in Bangladesh, the country has been flooded with the primary public health message to ‘frequently wash hands for at least 20 seconds’, following advice from the World Health Organization (WHO).