Almost all parents would want their kids to get the best education. No wonder then that despite the high tuition and countless school expenses, a number of parents still strive hard to enroll their kids in what they believe as the best school. These are parents who place a high value on education because they believe that the education their children receive will set the groundwork for the kids’ success.
Berlin, a parent of Gabriel Maynigo from the Diliman Preparatory School (DPS), is more than thankful that her 10-year old boy is academically excelling in class. Just last quarter, Gabriel achieved second honors in fourth grade. But what Berlin is more grateful for is the school’s effort in providing quality education, and caring for DPSian’s health interests.
A fun and interactive campaign
Recently, Gabriel and the rest of the grade school students from DPS went home with Daytime and Nighttime Dengue Defense Kits with free Green Cross Insect Repellent Lotion. These came from the Green Cross School Crashers team that visited them very recently.
The Green Cross School Crashers is an interactive campaign to educate kids and parents alike about the dreaded disease and the proper dengue defenses. Through the Green Cross School Crashers, primary level students (from grades 1 to 3) and intermediate students (grades 4 to 7) got to meet Mr. Green. Mr. Green, in the course of an interactive story telling session, introduced possible school crashers who might attack anyone left unguarded and cause the student to absent himself in class for days or even weeks. For the students at DPS, educational materials were provided for them to bring home while some were left for posting in school bulletin boards.
The colorful brochures were very informative and an easy read. It also had drawings of the two bad school crashers, Daytime Dengue Lamok and Nighttime Dengue Lamok. Daytime Dengue Lamok is Aedes aegypti, which attacks most aggressively during daytime, while Nighttime Dengue Lamok is Aedes albopictus which bites most aggressively from late afternoon till the evening hours.
Through the defense kit, the school-aged students were oriented about the would-be breeding grounds of dengue mosquitoes – automobile tires, plastic food containers, jars and drums that collect rainwater; and permanent mosquito-breeding places, mainly at construction sites, swimming pools and river banks. Insightful tips as well on how to keep one’s home and surroundings free from these pesky crashers were left handy for kids to share with their parents.
Always been a threat
Though the outbreak of dengue usually heightens during rainy season, it does not discount the fact that dengue is considered a year-round disease. Hardly into the third quarter of the year, the number of dengue cases in the country has surpassed last year’s data as recorded by the Department of Health’s (DOH) Dengue Surveillance Report. A total of 95,142 dengue cases were accounted nationwide from January 1 to September 1, at 12.94% higher than the 84,244 cases reported during the same period last year. DOH has also detailed that the National Capital Region posted the most number of dengue cases with mostly children below 10 years old as the victims. This suggests that most kids had fewer antibodies than are considered necessary to protect them against infections and illnesses, dengue included.
It was also through reading the School Crashers brochure that Gabriel detailed to his mother that the Ae. aegypti mosquito is the primary carrier of the dengue virus. It may be easily distinguished from others as it has a medium-sized dark body with white, ring-like stripes on its legs. It usually bites during the day. A breakthrough research though revealed that another Aedes mosquito carries the dengue virus, the Ae. albopictus. A nocturnal mosquito, the Ae. albopictus has black and white stripes on its body.
Taking action against risk of dengue
With the dengue threat not just present during the daytime but also during nighttime, parents should level up their protection against mosquito bites. Children, in any case, won’t be stopped from playing outdoors or playing with water from the pond or garden.
Taking action to the dengue threats brought on by these Aedes mosquitoes, the Green Cross School Crashers campaign aims to help parents, school personnel and kids level-up their dengue defense. And one proven and best line of defense against dengue is personal protection, especially for vulnerable primary level students who wear knee-length shorts and skirts everyday . To provide children with safe, round-the-clock protection, a new and better insect repellent lotion is now in the market. Especially formulated to give complete protection from day and night dengue mosquito bites, Green Cross Insect Repellent Lotion offers up to 10 hours protection per application that can block off dengue-carrying mosquitoes from coming near any person.
Just like Gabriel, after the Green Cross School Crashers, a lot of elementary students learned about dengue facts: the two dengue mosquitoes, their breeding grounds, and dengue symptoms. They also got to bring home free Green Cross Insect Repellent Lotion that they can share with their family.
As for Berlin, of all the insect repellent lotions she has tried, only Green Cross Insect Repellent Lotion had her approval. “Compared to other brands, Green Cross Insect Repellent Lotion has no strong chemical odor or greasy feel my kids always complain of about other insect repellent lotions,” she shared.
Without a doubt, the Green Cross School Crashers was an opportunity for both students and parents to know more about dengue. Berlin was thankful to her son’s school for allowing such a responsible campaign to be heard. She was all the more thankful to the Green Cross School Crashers Campaign because not only did her son learn about the disease in a fun way, he got a pretty colorful Day and Night Dengue Defense Kit with fun activities inside for him to answer and color.
The Green Cross School Crashers campaign is Green Cross’ frontline initiative in bringing proactive protection against day and night dengue lamok in schools.
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