Chapter 9: Keep Clean
Lily: "My body, my wash, fresh and clean, that's my job!"
Keeping clean stops germs from making us sick, and it helps us feel good, even far from home. Rangers keep clean in camp and on the road, with just a little water and soap.
What Rangers know
- Hands: wet them, soap them, scrub the palms, the backs, between the fingers and under the nails for one short song, then rinse and shake dry. Wash before eating, before touching drinking water, after the toilet, after helping a little one and after coughing into your hands. With little water, a friend pours a thin stream; don't dip your hands in the drinking jug.
- Face: splash it with safe water every morning and evening, and gently wipe your eyes from the inside corner out with a clean cloth.
- Teeth: brush twice a day with a small dab of toothpaste and safe water. Brush top, bottom and all around. Keep your own toothbrush in a case, and never share it.
- Underarms: wash with a little soap and water, rinse and dry, especially after hot days or long walks.
- Private parts: you wash your own private parts yourself, in private, with a little water and soap, front to back, then rinse and dry. Clean underwear every day if you can.
- Your body is yours. No one should touch your private parts, or ask you to touch theirs, except a health worker or carer helping you stay healthy, with your grown-up there. If anyone makes you feel uncomfortable, tell a grown-up you trust, even if they told you to keep it secret.
- Feet: wash and dry them every day, especially between the toes. Change into dry socks, check for red or sore spots at rest stops, and tell a grown-up.
- Clothes: wash them in a basin away from the drinking water, and dry them in the sun. Never sleep in wet clothes. Keep one clean, dry set in a bag.
- Hair: comb it every day. Don't share combs or hats, and tell a grown-up if your head is itchy.
- Cough and sneeze into your elbow, or into a tissue that goes in the bin, then wash your hands.
Ranger checklist
- ☐ I wash my hands with soap at the five key moments.
- ☐ I wash my face morning and night.
- ☐ I brush my teeth twice a day with my own toothbrush.
- ☐ I wash my underarms and dry them.
- ☐ I wash my own private parts myself, in private, front to back.
- ☐ I know my body is mine, and I tell a trusted grown-up if someone makes me uncomfortable.
- ☐ I wash and dry my feet and change into dry socks.
- ☐ I help keep my clothes clean and dry.
- ☐ I cough and sneeze into my elbow.
Earn your badge (Clean Hands & Hygiene; Badge_Matrix.csv)
| Level | Requirement |
|---|---|
| ❤️ Heart | Say: "My body, my wash, fresh and clean, that's my job!" and name the five hand-washing moments. |
| 🥉 Bronze | Show hand-washing with a song, tooth-brushing, and the face and feet steps with props. |
| 🥈 Silver | Keep a whole-week "keep clean" chart with a grown-up (hands, teeth, face, feet, clean clothes). |
| 🥇 Gold | Teach a younger child hand-washing and tooth-brushing. |
| 💎 Platinum | Ages 12+: help a grown-up run a hand-washing station or a "germ detectives" game for a group. |
| Body-care steps for private parts are never checked or watched. A grown-up only asks, "Do you know how to wash yourself?" and listens. |
Watch and learn
- Produced: EP05 Wash Your Hands (Card #005)
- Hygiene reels (DRAFT, Production/Hygiene_Series_Ideas_DRAFT.md):
- HY01 Handwashing at the Tap Stand · HY02 Wash With Little Water · HY03 The Tippy-Tap · HY04 The Five Key Moments
- HY07 Elbow Catch · HY08 Brush Twice a Day · HY09 Happy Feet · HY10 Clean Clothes, Dry Clothes
- HY11 Clean Cup, My Cup · HY15 Bath Time in a Bucket · HY16 Hair Care · HY20 Germ Detectives · HY21 Clean Body, Fresh Me
- Planned: Water Points and Latrines · Ranger Clean Hands · Happy Feet
- Go Bag #GB1: soap, toothbrush and spare underwear and socks fit in the bag (Item_List_150 #17, #37, #41, #8).
Grown-up note
Teach body care in plain, calm words, and use the correct names for body parts if your family is comfortable doing so; it helps children tell you about problems. Let children wash their own private parts as soon as they can, and keep washing private: closed screens, same-gender helpers where possible. Body-safety teaching ("your body is yours", "no secrets about touching") is protective; if a child tells you something worrying, stay calm, believe them, and contact camp protection staff or child-protection services. Rashes, sores, pain when peeing or itching that doesn't go away need a health worker.
Older kids and grown-ups: periods. Periods most often start between about 10 and 16 (some girls start as early as 8). It's a normal, healthy part of growing up. Before it starts, a trusted woman explains it simply. Pads (reusable or disposable) are often given out at the women's or health tent. Change them regularly, wash or bin them as shown, and wash hands before and after. Ask for a private place to wash and dry reusable cloths in the sun, and tell a health worker about very heavy bleeding or strong pain. Boys should learn that periods are normal and never something to tease about. Girls: a separate, private page has more on periods: Girls Only: Periods (10_Girls_Only_Periods.md, hidden until approved).
Sources (our own words): WHO WASH (https://www.who.int/health-topics/water-sanitation-and-hygiene-wash); WHO sanitation fact sheet (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sanitation); UNICEF WASH (https://www.unicef.org/wash); UNICEF menstrual health (https://www.unicef.org/wash/menstrual-hygiene); UNICEF child protection (https://www.unicef.org/protection). All five were checked earlier today and returned 200.