In a bid to create awareness about the COVID-19 pandemic among children in slums, a teacher in Maharashtra's Aurangabad city created a nursery rhyme in Marathi to teach them the 20-second hand-washing routine.

While frontline workers tackle COVID-19 on a war footing, teachers like Sunita Nagkirti are tasked with creating awareness about the pandemic in hotspot areas, especially slums. A video of Nagkirti teaching a group of children the 20-second hand-washing technique using a nursery rhyme was posted on Twitter by state sports commissioner Om Prakash Bakoriya.

The teacher, who is associated with the state's scout and guide programme at Ravindra School here, has been travelling to slums to educate people about the pandemic and dos and don'ts they need to follow to prevent it. "At least 30 people had tested positive in hotspot areas of Kailas Nagar and Rohidas Nagar when I was sent there 10 days ago," said Nagkirti.

Initially, residents were wary of her, but she broke the ice by distributing essentials and masks, which she bought from her own pocket. "Children were worried when they saw bottles of sanitisers and handwash liquids. But I used some popular Marathi nursery rhymes and created a fun handwash song," she said.

Even adults in slums need to know about the level of hygiene they need to maintain to fight coronavirus, she added. "Even after this health crisis abates, I will keep visiting these hotspots to teach children," said the enthusiastic educator.