Every Saturday for the past two months, over 100 Children from the Kianda Foundation Smartika Mimi Hygiene program get the chance to go on a cultural visit to Kimlea Technical Centre in Limuru. Smartika Mimi is a school hygiene program running in 2 public schools around the Limuru area to promote personal and environmental hygiene. The program has gone a long way towards preventing communicable diseases caused by lack of proper hygiene. The tour around the Kimlea facilities is geared towards making the Smartika Mimi hygiene program more practical for the youngsters. Lessons are given on proper hand-washing, classroom cleanliness, how to clean toilets, as well as how to handle and dispose of different types of rubbish. The children are further inspired by the cleanliness of Kimlea itself.
The children under the program are known as “Agents of Change”, who practice what they were taught in the Smartika Mimi program and share their knowledge with other children in their schools and even with their parents at home and in their communities at large.
A past student of Kibubuti Primary School, who is currently a student at Kimlea, gave a motivational talk to the students during one of the sessions. They also had a special viewing of “Lion King” which for some of them was the first film they had ever watched. The lessons close with students enjoying some snacks as they prepare to head home.