An article from Straits Time featuring the YEG
July 2, 2007,By Magdalen Ng
Skit, talks among activities initiated by youngsters to educate peers on dengue
WITH the number of dengue cases looming dangerously close to epidemic levels, schools are taking their roles in the war against the Aedes mosquito very seriously.
At Mayflower Secondary School, six Secondary 4 students from the Youth Environmental Group (YEG) are actively spreading the message on how everyone can do their part to prevent mosquito breeding.
They were invited to present their skit - Clean Up, Bin It, Don't Breed It - which portrays the reaction of a housewife when environmental officers do house visits, at the Teck Ghee Community Walk Against Dengue two weeks ago.
Hoping to create greater awareness in their school community as well, they intend to present the skit to every class.
Speaking proudly of her students, Mrs Frances Ess, the teacher in charge of the YEG, said: 'They have managed to pass the anti-dengue message in a more digestible way through humour, and have definitely made an impact.'
Currently, schools are being fogged once a month. For schools located near the identified clusters, site inspections will be intensified and additional fogging carried out if necessary, said a Ministry of Education spokesman.
During the recent school holidays, workshops were also conducted to educate school operations managers on the dengue situation and encourage the adoption of effective anti-dengue measures.
Many schools are not stopping at that. Like Mayflower Secondary, the schools have initiated their own anti-dengue campaigns, with students at the helm.songyuan@sph.com.sg
