DONATE

Super School of Five

This project introduced five superhero characters to encourage school children to wash their hands and face.

Sightsavers worked with Unilever and Lifebuoy on a flagship programme in Africa that aimed to prevent childhood blindness and eliminate trachoma.

The infectious eye disease is spread through contact with hands, clothing and infected flies. About 1.5 million people are blind or visually impaired because of it.

The programme launched in Kenya, Ethiopia and Zambia in 2014, and expanded to Nigeria in 2018.

More than 300,000 children were educated about the importance of washing their hands and face frequently to help stop the spread of the disease.

How soap and superheroes changed lives

Sightsavers' Geordie Woods explains how the programme made a huge difference to hygiene in schools.

Read the blog

How does the programme work?

As part of Super School of Five, children followed a 21-day programme that featured the adventures of five superheroes. The characters – designed by Craig Yoe, who worked alongside Jim Henson on The Muppets, and his wife Clizia Gussoni – encouraged children to understand the importance of good hygiene habits, particularly washing their face and hands with soap at five key points throughout the day. The 21-day timescale was chosen because research showed this was the optimum time needed for children to change their behaviour so it becomes habit.

  • Children were taught to say a pledge to wash their hands with soap, which they repeated five times to memorise it and help it become habit.
  • They were given a flip chart of activities that focused on the superheroes beating the evil trachoma infection and battling the flies that spread the disease.
  • There were also games, songs and dances, and children were encouraged to make up their own songs and draw their own murals.
  • Competitions were set up within schools and between neighbouring schools to reward the best work, with prizes for the winners.
  • All children received a certificate at the end of the 21-day programme.

Hand and face-washing stations were installed outside classrooms, toilets and eating areas at the schools. If there was no water source nearby, teachers and students collected water in jerry cans and ensured each station was filled.

As well as educating children, the programme empowered them and their teachers to change behaviour in their communities. They were encouraged to spread the word about the importance of hygiene and teach others in their family to wash their hands and faces properly.

The programme was supported by national governments and funders including The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and UK Aid.

The five cartoon superheroes from the campaign.

Meet the superheroes!

The characters are five of the ’coolest, cleanest’ superheroes, which each represent one of the five key points in the day when children need to wash their hands.

  • Biff (before breakfast)
  • Bam (lunchtime)
  • Pow (dinnertime)
  • Hairyback (after the toilet)
  • Sparkle (during bathing)

  • The superheroes must fight their arch enemy Nogood, a baddie who loves germs.

    How has the programme helped?

    A close up photo of someone washing their hands.

    Improved hygiene

    In 2017, a programme evaluation showed there had been a significant increase in hand and face washing.

    Ophthalmic nurse Jeremiah Gwafa screens community members' eyes for trachoma.

    Fewer cases of trachoma

    Results also showed the number of cases of trachoma had fallen since the programme started.

    Your donation can help us continue our work

    DONATE

    More on trachoma

    Three children wash their hands with soap at a sink.
    Sightsavers blog

    How people across Pakistan collaborated to beat trachoma

    Sightsavers’ Adnan Youhana shares how eliminating the eye disease was a true team effort, involving surgeons, radio hosts and Lady Health Workers.

    Adnan Youhana, October 2024
    A male eye health worker in Pakistan uses a torch to check a woman's eyes for signs of advanced trachoma.

    Pakistan is 19th country worldwide to eliminate trachoma

    Thanks to support from Sightsavers and partners, 3.7 million people will no longer be at risk of contracting the infectious eye disease.

    October 2024
    A mother and her young daughter hug and smile.

    Sightsavers funds record number of operations in 2023

    Sightsavers carried out more cataract operations than ever in 2023, according to figures published in the latest annual report.

    September 2024