Staying Safe While Making

1Sharp things

Scissors, knives, nails, broken glass and old tin lids are sharp. Sharp things cut. A blade does not know the difference between cardboard and your finger.

So here are the rules:

• Cut away from your body. Never cut towards yourself.
• Keep your other hand far away from the blade.
• When you walk, hold scissors closed, with the points down.
• Never run with something sharp. Never point it at a friend.
• Never pick up broken glass. Call an adult.

2Fire and hot things

Mugisha's mother cooks on charcoal. The pot is hot. And the charcoal stays hot for a long time, even after the flame has gone out.

• Never play near a fire. Fire is not a toy.
• Never use fire or a candle to make a toy on your own.
• Keep paper, dry grass and plastic away from flames. They catch fire very fast.
• If you must be near a fire, an adult must be there with you.

3Electricity

Electricity runs inside the wires in the wall. You cannot see it. You cannot smell it. But it is strong, and it can hurt you badly.

• Never push a finger, a nail, a stick or a wire into a socket.
• Never touch a wire that is broken or bare.
• Never touch a plug or a switch with wet hands. Water carries electricity into your body.
• Never build a toy from anything that plugs into the wall.

Did you notice? With electricity, the answer is always the same. Do not touch. Move away. Tell an adult.

4Using tools safely

• Use the right tool. Do not hit a nail with a stone.
• Look at the nail while you hit it, not at your friend.
• Keep your fingers away from the place where the hammer will land.
• Ask an adult for help with a very sharp knife, or to make a hole in a bottle top.

5Tidy up — it keeps other people safe too

Gatete finished his toy car. He left one nail lying on the floor. In the evening his little sister walked there with bare feet. She cried and cried.

A mess is not only untidy. A mess is dangerous. So when you finish, do these five things:

1. Pick up every nail, pin and piece of glass.
2. Sweep the scraps into the bin.
3. Close the glue. Close the scissors.
4. Put every tool back where it lives.
5. Wash your hands.

This is the same care we show on umuganda day, when everybody cleans the umudugudu together.

Try it yourself

Say safe or not safe for each one, then tap Show answer to check.

1. Ishimwe runs across the room holding open scissors.
2. Keza cuts paper, pushing the scissors away from her body.
3. Habimana pushes a wire into the socket to see what happens.
4. Uwase finds broken glass on the path and calls her teacher.
5. Mugisha leaves his nails and scraps on the floor and runs out to play.

6Answers

1. Not safe. Never run with something sharp. Walk, with the scissors closed and the points down.
2. Safe. Cutting away from her body keeps the blade far from her.
3. Not safe. Never put anything into a socket. The electricity can hurt him badly.
4. Safe. Broken glass is for adult hands, never for children's hands.
5. Not safe. A nail on the floor can go into a bare foot. Tidy up first, then play.