Kariza's questions
Jean de Dieu Bavugempore
Rob Owen

Kariza loved to ask questions. She got this habit from her parents.

They used to tell her, "If you don't ask questions when you are young, you will grow up to be an ignorant adult!"

1

One day, Kariza asked her teacher, "Why do our parents always tell us to wash our hands before eating, even when our hands look clean?"

Her classmates liked her question. They didn't like being told to wash their hands!

2

The teacher answered, "Good question! Even when our hands look clean, they can still have germs on them."

She explained, "Germs cause illness. We can't see germs using only our eyes, we need something more powerful to see germs."

3

The teacher got a microscope from the cupboard. "A microscope is a tool we use to see things that are too tiny for the human eye to see," she said.

The teacher gently scraped Kariza's hands with a stick and then wiped it on a microscope slide.

4

The teacher put the slide on the microscope and this is what they saw through the viewer.

Even though Kariza's hands did not look dirty, there were germs on them!

5

"There are germs all around us, on the things we touch in our classroom, playground or at home.

These germs can make us very sick," warned their teacher.

6

She continued, "To kill these germs, we need to wash our hands with clean water and soap, especially before eating.

Also, when we are sick we must wash our hands so that we don't spread the germs."

7

When she got home, Kariza found her father making an interesting tool. "What are you making?" she asked.

"This is called a 'kandagirukarabe' (step up and wash)," her father said. "You use it to wash your hands."

8

Kariza was surprised and said, "Oh yes! Our teacher told us about this tool. But most of us did not know about it. How does it work?"

He laughed and told her, "Come closer and I will show you, my daughter."

9

"First, step on this piece of wood on the floor," said father.

10

"Then, the water container will tilt and pour water onto your hands.

Remember to wash with soap," he told Kariza.

11

Kariza was happy and said, "How would I know this without asking questions?

It's true that questions lead to knowledge."

12
You are free to download, copy, translate or adapt this story and use the illustrations as long as you attribute in the following way:
Kariza's questions
Author - Jean de Dieu Bavugempore
Translation - Aloysie Uwizeyemariya
Illustration - Rob Owen
Language - English
Level - Longer paragraphs