Nutrition and Hygiene Workshop with Kids in Naddi

A few weeks ago, RuralhealthCARE India ran a workshop in Fun Club (the after school program in Naddi) to help kids learn about nutrition and hygiene.  The workshop started off with a science experiment showing what happens when a drop of soap is placed in a plate filled with milk and food coloring, and how the soap seems to ‘push away’ all of the colors in the plate.  The experiment was followed with a conversation about soap and hand washing.  The kids discussed why washing hands is beneficial, and when they felt it is most important to wash hands: before cooking food, before eating, and after using the toilet. 

Watch a video of the Science Experiment!

            Next, we talked about nutrition.  The kids learned about how it is important to eat a variety of different foods: grains and pulses, fruits and vegetables, oil and nuts, and foods from animals.  Everyone called out foods from each of the different food groups to write on a poster.  For ‘grains and pulses,’ they mentioned dal, channa, rice, chapatti, and rajma.  Under ‘fruits and vegetables,’ they brought up mangoes, bananas, apples, tomatoes, cucumbers, and several others.  ‘Foods from animals’ included milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, chicken, and mutton.  Lastly, ‘oil and nuts’ included butter, ghee, and peanuts.  The kids learned why each type of food is important.  At the end of the workshop, everyone drew the silliest pictures they could imagine that included at least one food from each of the food groups.  Before they went home, each of the kids got to eat some fruit- but not before washing their hands!

            Overall, the workshop was very successful.  The kids learned a lot about how to make healthy choices and why they are important, and the science experiment proved to be a great way to get everyone engaged.  The kids also had a lot of fun drawing pictures- it gave them a chance to be creative and show their artistic sides while exploring food and nutrition.  Using science and art as tools for teaching and engaging kids seems to be an effective way to get everyone interested in the topics, and the health workshops in Fun Club will hopefully have positive implications for the kids in the long run as they grow older.  Our hope is that by maintaining a presence of RuralHealthCARE India in the community and continuing to promote healthy decisions, the kids will adopt more healthy behaviors that they will keep up throughout their lives.

Craig Rothenberg, USA
Rural HealthCARE India
June - August 2013

Steps towards a Healthier Rajol

After building trust and community relations with the migrants in Rajol over the past 3 months, we have now gained the confidence to talk to them about more sensitive topics, such as health.  When we first began working in the migrant camp, we feared that they would resist health interventions.  Through interactions with other migrants from Rajasthan, our Director learned that the migrants did not trust the hospitals or allopathic medicine in general.  Although traditional medicine can be effective at times, we were dismayed to hear that they refused vaccinations, instead boiling the hair of certain animals to treat or prevent disease. 

Fortunately however, our recent health survey in Rajol only revealed good news – a willingness of the migrants to seek and accept health care.  The migrants in Rajol do not practice any traditional medicine, and therefore feel very dependent on the chemist (pharmacist) down the road.  Whether for headaches, work injuries, or disease, the migrants accept all drugs recommended by the chemist without question, paying him their hard earned money for ineffective and temporary solutions.  We advised them to go the government hospital instead, where they could see a doctor, receive a diagnosis, and get prescriptions for any necessary medicines.  Although they said they did not trust the government hospital – claiming that the only good hospitals were ones you had to pay money for, the private ones – they agreed to visit the public hospital with me this week.

A few days ago, I went to the government hospital in Dharamshala with the village leader, his wife, and their son, Rajesh, an adorable 9 year-old boy with Down’s syndrome.  After a very long day waiting for and speaking with doctors, we left the hospital feeling successful – diagnostic tests scheduled for next week.  We are unsure what solutions we will find for Rajesh at this hospital, but this is a great first step in their pursuit for health care.  Through this visit and subsequent visits, I am hoping to show the migrants that the government hospitals are accessible, affordable, and trustworthy.  And we are hoping that this will result in continued use of hospital services, instead of blind obedience to a money-hungry chemist.  In the end, our influence as MCE and health interns could result in a healthier, more financially empowered community. 

With the pediatrician

Outside the hospital

Betsy Hinchey, United States

Rural HealthCARE Project Manager

March – July 2013

Nutrition Workshop with the Paro Community!

During the month of June great steps have been made towards improving health habits in the Paro community. After becoming aware that some nutrition habits of the community are a problem leading to health issues (such as weakness, shakiness, fevers, etc.) we decided to work on this. Therefore, Iria and I, the health interns in Punjab, organized a nutritional workshop with the girls in the office and with the women at the camp. The workshop was carried out in two different days and it was a great success: we all had a lot of fun and learned different things related to diet and health. The first day we talked about their nutritional habits and how they could be improved, using some flashcards and giving them some tips (such as drinking at least six glasses of water everyday, highlighting the importance of diet when breastfeeding or the importance of eat a variety of food).

                                   Sajana, at the camp, with one of the flashcards with some tips.

We also covered the properties of the different vegetables and fruits that they can find in Paro using as well flashcards for each vegetable (its name and picture), its properties, its price and how can it be cooked.

                      Omti, Jamna and Nura going throw the flashcards of the different vegetables and fruits with Iria.

This flashcards are now in the office and the girls can look up the information whenever they want. We also played a game in which they had to guess which food they tasted without seeing it. It was so much fun!

                           Geeta and Chandas at the office, playing the ‘guessing game’ with Iria and me.

                                          Omti and Nura playing the ‘guessing game’ at the camp.

Last, we worked on the Indian food pyramid and we compared their habits to what it is recommended (what food do they eat and in what amount). Finally they created their pyramid, which is now in our office!

                                     The food pyramid that they created, which is now in the office.

Iria and I carried out the workshop without help on translation (and we understood the women and they understood us pretty well)! We end up talking about different health issues (related to pregnancy, diet, and hygiene). We are developing a trusting relationship in which we can talk about different issues and relate hygiene and nutrition with health problems. I think that this is a great step!

Besides the success of the nutritional workshop in Paro, we have more good news here in Punjab: a new health intern has arrived, Ouma, who will be working in Harianna. Now, Ouma and I are going to work to improve the health situation of the communities in Paro and in Harianna. This next month we are going to keep doing more educational activities, as we think it is very important to promote health through education.

Carla Andrés Viñas, Spain

Health Project Manager

June 2013