Mr Ebenezer Kye-Mensah, Senior Capacity Building Specialist of the Global Communities, a non-profit making international organisation, has said that behavioural change communication is the antidote to good environmental sanitation.

He said without communicating with school children through cultural display, drama, art exhibition and mentoring on environmental sanitation, to instill good healthy living, the investment in their education would be a waste of resources.

Mr Kye-Mensah gave the advice at an environmental art competition among four schools at Lartebiokorshie in the Ablekuma Central District of Accra, aimed at instilling behavioural change in school children.

The schools are Lartebiokorshie ‘1’JHS, ‘6’JHS, ‘5’ JHS and Presbyterian JHS.

The competition was sponsored by Cummins Ghana Limited, a worldwide manufacturing company, Cowbell and Global Communities.

He advised parents and the community to encourage children to form environmental clubs to know their basic personal hygiene practices.

Miss Dorcas Martey, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager of Cummins Ghana Limited, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said her organisation’s core values are to make life better for communities.

She said for that matter, the education of school children, environmental cleanliness and improved behavioural change was of great importance.

Miss Martey said the art exhibition among the schools was to exhibit what had been studied by them so far through the behavioural change communication initiative.

“We hope we have had a lasting impact on the lives of the children which will go a long way to better their lives,” she said.

Miss Martey said her outfit has also provided some schools in Lartebiokorshie with a borehole and had re-roofed the buildings of other.

Mr Martin Apima, Circuit Supervisor of the Ghana Education Service in the area expressed gratitude to the sponsors by training about 1,000 school children to form self-help clubs to champion proper hygiene.

He said to sustain the programme the School Management Committee and the Parent Teacher Association have been sensitised on effective financial management to mobilise fund to ensure the facilities that have been provided was properly maintained.

Management of Cowbell presented its products to the students who excelled in the art exhibition.