100 in Unison

The sound of 100 students brushing their teeth isn’t quite deafening, but it is a sound that certainly gets your attention! This week the nutrition team held a training at one of the village schools about dental health and the 5 food groups (we have 5 here since dairy isn’t ever on the menu). The training was special for two reasons. Firstly, it was the first training I attended where dental hygiene was discussed. And secondly, it was the first training where the team used puppets to convey their lesson about the five food groups.

Puppeting

The puppet show was something we have been trying to implement for a long time. Back in September an MCC staff member who has experience with dramas and puppeteer-ing came to Tha Thom and did a one-day workshop on the topic. Ever since I have been excited and hoping the team would be interested in trying a new way to interact with our target audience. Two weeks ago they asked me to write a story for them to present. The turnaround was short, but thanks to MCC translator, Bounpheng, we were able to crank out a short script for presentation this week!

Teacher Inspecting a Puppet

The concept of puppets to convey a message isn’t new in Laos…in fact we hear that in some parts of the country it is a traditional technique. The team’s first presentation went well! The kids enjoyed it and we hope learned the basics about why eating food from the 5 food groups is important. I hope that we can use more shows like this in the future to engage the audience more.

Lines of Brushers

Following the show, out came the tooth brushes. The students each fetched a glass of water, filled it at the tap and lined up in the school yard. Brushes were distributed as was the paste…some instruction followed…and the scrubbing commenced! For some students this was their first time ever using a tooth brush!

Student Inspecting a Brush

Tooth Paste Mustache