The Court of Dreams: Using Sport to Promote Dental Hygiene

After a 2 month long holiday last year (2016), most kids finally returned to school on 4^th January 2017. This included many of the schools that are part of our Court if Dreams programme. The first few weeks had not been a smooth ride for both Sadili staff and the teachers at these schools as most of the pupils had not yet to report back to school. However, the third week of January (16^th-24^th) which is also the third week since schools reopened saw a good turnaround of events with a good percentage of kids back to school and settled. Sadili’s social educators successfully had life skills sessions with almost all the schools in the programme.This week (from 23^rd -30^th January), they are back to these schools with a focus on dental hygiene.

 

Practicing dental hygiene at an early age can help kids develop healthy, strong teeth into adulthood. This is why tooth brushing remains one of the major topics often discussed by Sadili’s Social educators through the Court of Dreams programme. Their first stop was at Olympic Primary School on Tuesday, 24^th January. In a fun and effective way, they were able to get the children to think about their oral health. Some of the things they taught the kids included: the steps involved in teeth brushing,the health benefits of keeping their mouths clean by brushing their teeth, when and how many times they should brush their teeth as well as tooth diseases caused by bacteria.

The Social Educators clearly proved that brushing is not a chore; it can be fun with songs that encourage good health and hygiene. They came up with a simple song on cleaning of teeth that entertained and kept the kids engaged throughout the session. “If kids have a positive experience learning to brush, they will remember the lesson and be more likely to brush regularly,” said Kevin, one of Sadili’s Social Educators.

Apart from this, the kids had a chance to play tennis and other fun games with their favorite Coaches after the life skills session.

“We have enjoyed ourselves today playing and learning about teeth brushing,” said Michelle, a std. 2 pupil at the school. “We hope to have more fun next week.”

The Court of Dreams uses sport, mainly tennis and basketball, to encourage better hygiene habits among children 3-12 years of age, their attendance in school as a result of better health and therefore improved performance in school.