Poor Hygiene

Hygiene has been found to be a serious issue in poor communities and households. Many children suffer from crying lack of hygiene, and are often found wearing clothes that have not been washed for several days, weeks or months. The baseline survey conducted by World Vision Burundi showed that up to 34% of children do not take a bath or change clothes at least once a week. As a result, children grow in a culture of uncleanliness even in their adult age.

Children in schools use filthy toilets, dangerously exposing them to water-borne diseases that are ranked among the biggest killers of under-five children especially in developing countries. In addition, in some regions, many children are affected by skin diseases and parasites such as lice, jiggers, bed-bugs, etc. Both of these household pests affect early child physical, mental and intellectual development. Children with chronic jiggers are often marginalized by their peers leading them to long-term loss of self-confidence and poor performance in classes or even to school dropout.