Our team at Mangal Pratap Stree Arogya Kendra has started conducting health education sessions for students in the village schools nearby. We began in August 2024 and so far, the students and the principal have received our sessions in Belati village well. The school has 190 students in all. We started our sessions with the adolescents i.e., students of age 10 and above. Seeing that technology has made its way into the school was heartening. The school has a large LED TV screen, which we used to project the slides from our presentation on adolescent health.
Adolescence is a critical period in a person’s life. While the body and the brain change rapidly, early seeds are sown on how an adolescent makes choices in life. What is life, if not a series of choices? What we eat, how physically active we are, how much time we spend on screens, and what we watch on the screens—these have large implications on our health.
“Start them young” is a famous saying among public health circles. Preventing a child from trying out cigarettes/beedis seems more plausible than getting a chronic smoker adult in his 40s to get off smoking after he has developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Knowledge does not always translate to behavior change. For instance, most kids in their teens know that fast food, fast fashion, tobacco, alcohol use, and social media are not great for them; however, they indulge in these regardless.
At MPSAK, we understand that behavior change comes from repeated interactions and making children understand the consequences and the ‘why’ behind their choices. Hence, we intend to engage regularly with the rural schools in the neighborhood. Many children travel to the city for their education, and with time, we will conduct our health sessions there as well. We will list the children who have dropped out of school, during our upcoming door-to-door survey and intervene on a one-to-one basis.
On asking the children in this village school, how they spend their screen time, they told us they spend some time making/ watching Instagram reels. The girls use their mobile phones to view educational content, and play online games like Ludo, Carrom, and ‘Snakes and Ladders.’ The boys play games like ‘Fast Fire’ which involves guns, bombs, and shooting people. By the time they are 10, most girls help in household chores like cleaning and cooking, while most boys help in fetching water and buying groceries. Gender differences start young in our society and the consequences are clear for us to see in the status quo.
Most kids would rather buy a packet of chips with their pocket money rather than a fruit, for instance, a banana. Food choices also depend on family practices. Making a healthier choice has become harder because of the capitalist environment. A life-saving medicine may not be available in the village, but there is no dearth of ‘Coke’, “Pepsi’, ‘Lays’, ‘Kurkure’, and the like.
I wanted to explain the physiology of menstruation and how one gets pregnant to both the boys and the girls. However, despite it being the 21st century, these are considered taboo topics for boys. After discussing food choices, adolescent changes, mobile screen time, violence, mental health, and non-communicable diseases like diabetes and heart disease; I had to ask the boys to leave the classroom. For the girls, I then explained many aspects of sexual and reproductive health.
Towards the end of every session, my teammate circulates blank paper slips for the children to ask questions anonymously. I received some interesting questions- “What should I study to become a doctor?” “I am not able to stop watching reels. What should I do?” “I am hooked on to the game- fast fire. How to stop?” “Why does hair grow in our private parts” “How does one get periods”
I am sure the kids had many more questions; however, this is just the beginning and it takes time to break the ice.
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