Ann Oldenburg

USA TODAY

We're hearing the jokes already: "Sesame Street goes down the toilet!"

But this isn't a joke.

Sesame Street has unveiled a new Muppet, Raya. Her job will be to "engage children with important messages surrounding proper latrine use and sanitation throughout Bangladesh, India and Nigeria."

It's part of the group's Cleaner, Healthier, Happier campaign.

Raya is a 6-year-old, aqua-green girl Muppet, and she loves to learn and remembers every fact she reads or hears. Some of it is useful, some not so much. For example she knows that giraffes have seven bones in their necks. But she also knows that washing your hands after going to the bathroom is important for staying healthy.

And note the sandals she's wearing. "I make sure to wear my sandals everywhere—especially to the latrine. Wearing my sandals helps protect me so I can stay clean and healthy," she says in an interview with Brian Arbogast, director of the Water, Sanitation & Hygiene team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Look for the Cleaner, Healthier, Happier campaign to include three public service announcements featuring Raya and Elmo, focusing on sanitation and hygiene, which will be distributed in each country's official language; a 12- to 15-minute DVD with locally produced studio and live-action segments; and print materials.