Kirei Kirei Fosters Good Handwashing Practices in Klang Valley Schools

4,000 students participated in first phase of programme with plans to reach out to more in the next

With the aim of fostering good handwashing habits among young children, Japan’s No. 1 hand soap brand^[1], Kirei Kirei conducted a hand hygiene programme for primary school students in Klang Valley in the last few months. Over 4,000 children benefitted from the programme and RM50,000 worth of products was contributed to participating schools.

For the past two years, the practice of handwashing has become one of the most well-stressed daily routines within the community. Since then, it has been viewed as an effective method in helping to prevent the spread of diseases, which are usually disseminated through poor hand hygiene. When your family is healthy, you don’t have to worry about missing school, work, or other activities.

Handwashing is an easy, economical, and effective way to remove germs, prevent the spread of germs to others, and avoid getting sick. This is especially useful when it comes to preventing diseases such as Hand Foot Mouth (HFMD) and Influenza, which saw a rise in cases in the country in recent months.

Although people clean their hands with water, very few actually use soap, which removes germs much more effectively^[2]. With that in mind, Kirei Kirei created a fun and educational programme to cultivate proper handwashing practice amongst Malaysian students.

“Bend a bamboo while it is still a shoot” – this saying emphasises the importance of instilling good values and habits when one is still young. Through the Kirei Kirei 2022 School Programme, more than 4,000 primary school students were educated about personal hygiene, with a particular focus on hand hygiene.

Following the guidelines released by the Malaysian National Security Council (MKN) and the Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH), Kirei Kirei kicked off its on-ground school programme in March 2022 at both private and international schools within the Klang Valley. Students took part in numerous engaging activities, including storytelling sessions about germs and the importance of handwashing. They also get to personalise their own Kirei Kirei bottle stickers labels to stick on the bottles so as to promote and encourage refilling habits that help to reduce waste and environmental concerns.

To make the handwashing practice fun and easy, Kirei Kirei demonstrated the seven handwashing steps by incorporating the “Happy Birthday” song. A “before-and-after” video featuring the use of UV light was also shown to the students, demonstrating that improper handwashing techniques left behind germs and bacteria that were not visible to the naked eye.

In order to further cultivate the habit of proper handwashing, Kirei Kirei also contributed RM53,000 worth of Kirei Kirei Foaming Hand Wash products to the participating schools. These products were placed throughout the school compound, such as the canteen, toilets, washbasins, and other appropriate areas, so that students are able to keep their hands clean anytime. Posters and mirror stickers were also strategically put up to serve as reminders about the seven handwashing steps.

Kazuo Mabuchi

Kazuo Mabuchi, Southern Lion Sdn. Bhd. Managing Director, stressed the importance of leading by example. “As parents and caretakers, it is our responsibility to teach our children good hygiene habits. Children learn by imitating the behaviour of adults in their lives: by teaching them the correct way to wash our hands, it is much easier for this routine to become a lifelong healthy practice and habit. Our mission at Southern Lion is to bring happier, cleaner, and healthier living to all Malaysians by introducing products like Kirei Kirei. By continuously making products to support better hygiene, we hope to change, improve, and positively impact their quality of life.”

“I hope that the Kirei Kirei 2022 School Programme will impact our future generations significantly and positively. Based on the wonderful response from this year’s programme, we will continue to reach out to even more schools in the next phase. Our target is to conduct more sessions at schools in Klang Valley!” continued Mabuchi.

Kirei Kirei Kid-safe Anti-bacterial Foaming Hand Wash comes in two variants: Moisturizing Peach and Nourishing Berries. Each variant is available in 250ml bottle (RM12.50) and 200ml refill pack (RM8.50) formats. Purchase Kirei Kirei products at selected Don Don Donki, AEON, AEON Maxvalu, AEON Wellness, Jaya Grocer, Village Grocer and Ben’s Independent Grocer outlets. You can also order on Lazada or Shopee with doorstep delivery!

[1] Japan’s No. 1 Hand Soap Series INTAGE SRI, Hand Soap Value Sales, CY2021
[2] Burton M, Cobb E, Donachie P, Judah G, Curtis V, Schmidt WP. The effect of handwashing with water or soap on bacterial contamination of hands.external icon Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2011 Jan;8(1):97-104.