Lifebuoy’s’Jump Pump’ turns the hand pump into a fun game

Lifebuoy has implemented several innovative programmes over the years to create habit change for hand washing among children as well as to raise awareness about the five critical hand washing occasions in a day. Of these five, one of the most important is washing hands with soap before eating.

In April this year, Lifebuoy chose the serving of mid-day meal in schools to convey this message. India’s mid-day meal scheme feeds over 120 million children a day, making it the perfect opportunity to address the maximum number of children across schools, at the actual moment of truth.

Across many rural schools, it was seen that children were not washing hands before having lunch, despite the availability of soap. It turned out that old and heavy hand-operated pumps were the only way to access water in these schools. Young children found it difficult to operate these pumps.

Geometry Global India executed an innovative concept called’Jump-Pumps’ to address the issue. Rahul Saigal, President, Geometry Global India, explained, “Sometimes the best way to teach kids an important lesson is to distract them into learning.  You can’t engage children by mere preaching, you need to talk to them in a language they understand: the language of play!

He said: “Our idea was simple – turn the boring and cumbersome hand pump into a fun game, while making it easier to operate. We installed a specially crafted rocking horse, made from a combination of wood and metal with a simple screw-on mechanism, on to the handles of these hand pumps in schools – transforming them into “Jump-Pumps.

At lunchtime, when children headed out of class for their meal, they were taken by surprise by this colourful addition to their school premises. Promoters explained the concept and the proper technique of washing hands with soap along with putting up posters at prominent spots in the school to explain the “Jump Pump game. Apart from this, Lifebuoy soap was also provided to ensure soap availability throughout the activation period.

Vipul Salvi, National Creative Director, Geometry Global India, added, “We need to keep pushing the limits of creativity to help solve basic problems like poor hygiene…the great thing about the Jump Pump is that it worked like a charm with kids while being cost-effective and easy to implement.

1,500 rural schools across UP and Maharashtra are being impacted with this activity between April-May 2014.

George Koshy, General Manager (Skin Cleansing), HUL, said, “Lifebuoy has a proud history of being a brand that stands for saving lives. It is indeed our mission to ensure that hand washing with soap becomes a habit for children, as a step to reducing diarrheal mortality. The’Jump Pump’ activation is an innovative approach, appealing to children in a manner that is fun and enjoyable.