U.N. Honors Georgia-Pacific Turkey For Hygiene Program that has Reached Millions of Children
The Solo Primary School Personal Hygiene Education Project, which is sponsored by Georgia-Pacific’s Solo® bathroom tissue,
has taught more than 3 million children about better health since it was founded
in 2002.
Ipek Kagit, Georgia-Pacific's joint venture with Eczacibasi Group in Turkey, was recently presented with a 2006 World Business Award for its efforts to improve community health and hygiene through the Solo project. The award is part of the United Nations Development Program's global initiative to improve the quality of life and eradicate diseases in developing countries by 2015.
According to Baki Gökçümen, general manager of Ipek Kagit, the program was developed in response to poor hygiene practices in Turkey. "We found that children weren't taking their personal hygiene seriously and school books didn’t cover bathroom hygiene adequately," Gökçümen said. "We were able to work with the Ministry of Education to create a program to teach children that basic habits, like using tissue paper and proper hand washing, help prevent diseases."
More than 3,500 primary schools throughout the country have been involved in the program, Gökçümen said. Education specialists visit selected schools to conduct seminars, which incorporate dialogue and learning aids such as cartoon posters, to engage students. Ipek Kagit was one of the 10 award recipients selected from 73 international projects.