The Chinese government and the World Health Organization quickly recognized the importance of personal hygiene as the most effective and simplest means of biosecurity for SARS. For long lasting results, personal hygiene must be deep rooted as a personal habit of every Chinese citizen. Hand washing perhaps is the most basic and simplest among all the hygiene habits, but most Chinese do not wash their hands properly even without the use of soap.
Perfect Timing
Since SARS brought hand washing into focus, all that was needed was to provide the Chinese with soap and some simple instructions on effective hand washing. But China is a huge country with a population of 1.3 billion people, and it would be an insurmountable, if not impossible, job to give every citizen a piece of soap. It was quickly realized the importance of teamwork and the involvement and commitment of Chinese partners.
The National Renderers Association (NRA) invited New Hope, Inc., the largest private Chinese feed company, for western China (Chengdu, Sichuan Province), and Tangrenshen Group, a large pork production integrator, for southern China (Zhuzhou, Hunan Province), to participate in a “hand washing campaign” in mid-June. Chengdu was selected because the United States has a consul general in the city, David Bleyle, who participated in the campaign.
For northern China, the association was fortunate in having help from Tianjin Baker Commodities, whose parent company, Baker Commodities, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, donated 55,000 pieces of soap needed for the campaign. Tianjin is the headquarters of U.S. soap giant Procter and Gamble. All soap used for the campaign was made from U.S. tallow. Due to funding restrictions of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), soap was donated by the industry.
Each Chinese partner was then asked to select two schools for donation, preferably a high school with a size of 2,000 students from a rural area. In the end, there was one grade school, four high schools, and one college. Schools were targeted because students are ideal in turning knowledge into habit, and they in turn can teach their family members and even the community to develop the habit of washing hands. Visiting schools rather than communities also allowed the team to accomplish the goal of education without bringing the risk of contact with residents in rural areas.
At each school, we presented three pieces of soap for each student and faculty, hand washing literature, a compact disk, and a plaque. Other than soap, all expenses were funded by generous grants from the USDA/Foreign Agriculture Service. Interestingly, one of the partners (Tangrenshen Group) matched the soap value by donating pork and egg products to students.
Realizing the potential risk of contacting SARS in China, the campaign team was grateful that Kent Swisher, vice president, NRA International Programs, and NRA International Market Development Committee member George Congleton, Baker Commodities, flew over to represent the American people.
A Small Gift with a Big Meaning
At each school, officials from county, city, school, education bureau, and the news media gathered for a short ceremony. In their speeches, they all reflected the true meaning of the campaign – “a small gift with a big meaning and friendship.” The sheer fact that we physically visited the schools during the SARS warning period was deeply appreciated by the schools.
We can never forget the bright, innocent, and happy faces of the pupils from the grade school in Meishan County Pengshan College (outskirts of Chengdu). For most of them, it was indeed the first time they had seen and touched an American.
All the partners did their very best in arranging visits so the ceremony went smoothly and solemnly. Imagine, in a very remote village in China, students and U.S. visitors standing side-by-side listening to the national anthem of the United States and China. Everyone felt the warmth and closeness of the friendship between the two great nations.
Enhanced Business Relationship
Through the campaign, we had opportunities of meeting the top management of local partners. New Hope has just begun production of aqua feeds at its brand new feed mill in Guangzhou, and would very much like to work with the NRA in developing meat and bone meal (MBM), poultry by-product meal-based feed formulas. Tangrenshen Group, the largest importer of U.S. MBM (20,000 metric tons per year) invited all members of the association to be its business partner in capturing the opportunity of China’s fast growing economy. In short, the campaign provided an opportunity for a deeper understanding and mutual commitment between the partners and the association.
Similar hand washing campaigns have been successfully run by the NRA in Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan as part of a soap promotion in the 1970s. The very fact that simple hand washing is effective in preventing the transmission of disease deserves to be emphasized in SARS-stricken China. This campaign perhaps needs to be repeated hundreds of times for a large country like China.
In conclusion, the key values obtained from this campaign are friendship, partnership, common value sharing, commitment, and the increased use of soap or U.S. tallow. The campaign is highly worthwhile and will have a long lasting impact on building a sound personal hygiene habit by the Chinese people.
Acknowledgements
Sincere thanks go to the following organizations for their timely and generous support of the campaign: USDA/Foreign Agriculture Service; NRA; American Soap and Detergent Association; American Consulate General-Chengdu; Tianjin Baker Commodities, Inc.; New Hope, Inc.; Tangrenshen Group, Inc.; Tianjin Baodi College; Tianjin Jixian 1st College; Chengdu Meishan Pengshan College; Chengdu Xinjin Huaqiao County Central Primary School; Zhuzhou City 2nd College; Zhuzhou Industry College.
International Report - August 2003 Render