Every year in India, 300,000 children under 5 lose their lives to preventable diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia. Many of these lives can be saved by handwashing with soap.

Lifebuoy’s brand purpose is to help a child reach 5 by educating them about the importance of handwashing with soap.

With a small budget of 13,500 Euros, we wanted to take our message of handwashing to 1,000 children living in the poorest parts of India.

Buddy is an unbranded, attractive plush that is toy given away in schools, clinics and villages in rural India. Children who press his paw will hear Buddy speak through a speech module. Inserted into Buddy’s banter are reminders for children to wash their hands before eating and after going to the bathroom.

Completely unbranded, Buddy is an attractive plush toy that blends into the world of a child. Made with soft fabric in the right size for kids aged 1-5 to hold to sleep, Parents, too, were pleased that Buddy is hypoallergenic, and washable, a safe and trusted friend that will keep their child entertained. A total of 1,000 Buddys were distributed through clinics, schools and community organisations in the poorest parts of India, spreading love and our handwashing message. Buddy even comes with activity cards that make kids use their hands through play, then encourage them to wash their hands.