ADVOCACY OF ADOLESCENT EDUCATION FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

[Avnish Jolly]

ADVOCACY OF ADOLESCENT EDUCATION FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Servants of the People Society is social welfare organization devoted to the cause of social upliftment and awareness. Through a wide net work of our branches all over India since 1921. This organization was founded in 1921 by Lala Lajpat Rai and inaugurated by father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi at Lahore. We have been striving to promote greater co-operation, friendship and awareness among diverse Economic/Social/ Psychological/Religious/Professional etc. groups, to create and foster a spirit of understanding and tolerance, to promote Healthy Society and social development at all levels through different activities. We have a wide network of branches in different
states of the Country.

The organization also enlists and train social workers for the service of the motherland. We expect them to work in educational, cultural, social and economic advancement of the country. Our branches work in their own states and districts and organize many activities at this level.

Chandigarh Chapter of Servants of the People Society, Chandigarh specially working for the youth and children of the City Beautiful in the matter of promotion of Global Peace, National Integration, Secularism, Moral Values and engaging youths for the national building activities by undertaking social-work projects. We have been organizing various activities in the different parts of the city to promote integration, co-operation, friendship and awareness among different sections of the society. In pursuance of these aims we have organizing different activates regularly in collaboration with different NGOs, CBOs, Institutions and self-help groups in and around different parts of the Chandigarh.

In pursuance of our aims, Chandigarh Branch of Servants of the People Society, as you are aware, has been very consistent in its drive to educate citizens in and around the city beautiful about the menace of Drugs, HIV/AIDS and Reproductive & Child Health under the guidance of Dr. N.N.Wig, Dr. J.G.Jolly, Sh. Onkar Chand and Gp.Capt.P.S.Soni (Retd.).

On these lines our organization is running Drug De-addiction & Counselling Centre (Funded by Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment), Reproductive & Child Health Programme (Funded by Society For Service to Voluntary Agencies, North under the RCH Scheme of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India) and Chandigarh AIDS Hotline – 1097 Toll-Free (Funded by State AIDS Control Society UT. Chandigarh under National AIDS Control Organization Scheme from the Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare, Government of India).

It has been accused that youth are particularly prone to such risks and therefore a special effort is needed to educate them. Over the past four years detailed dialogues were carried out with the State Institute of Education, Chandigarh authorities and working with them on this issue.

The Child and Adolescent Health programme of the Department of Population Education Cell serves as a focal point for information gathering, information dissemination, programme support, planning and policy development.

The programme seeks to balance an understanding of adolescent disorders with efforts to support prevention and early intervention on following issues:

1. Adolescence: Process of Growing Up
2. Problems of Adolescents and Counselling
3. Drug Abuse and Counselling
4. STIs/RTIs – AIDS/HIV and Prevention Education
5. Human Values

The community can progress only when its people are aware of its various types of problems and are fully prepared to do away with them. Adolescence education is one of the major thrusts for the development of the community. Adolescence Education has emerged in response to the critical needs and concerns of adolescent development which is a complex process of mental, physical, cognitive, emotional and moral maturation of individuals from childhood to adult hood. This training manual has been prepared with a vision to create awareness among school teachers and parents about the various types of problems arising among children during adolescent age, their identification and the strategies to deal with them. Adolescence education is the most effective medium to overcome problems of adolescents.

This manual is specifically formulated to help the teachers, parents and children themselves to promote growth and development of children and adolescents, and to
deal effectively with the problems of behaviour, emotions, learning and physical
developments occurring this period. More specifically the instructions are aimed
at to improve adjustment, encourage achievements, minimize problems of behaviour,
emotions or relationship, better performance and deal effectively with psychiatric
disorders, if present. Here attempts are made to help parents and teachers to
inculcate in themselves and their children the ability to analyse and understand the problems well and to deal with them effectively in their activity of daily life.

In this manual awareness against drug- abuse and its adverse effects on body, mind and emotions has been created. Counselling and preventive strategies for addicted children are suggested. Adequate knowledge about smoking / alcoholism – a very common drug abuse young adolescents is given. Role of teachers/ parents/ community workers in drug prevention and cultivating proper attitude towards drugs are suggested so as to keep the adolescents away from drug-abuse.

Adequate knowledge about the transmission of STIs/ RTIs and also about fatal disease HIV/AIDS has been provided so as to create awareness among the adolescents and general public about such unfamiliar and dreaded diseases and to create healthy society. Symptoms and preventive measures for these infectious disease and different issues related with Reproductive Health are also discussed.

An attempt has been made to introduce Value Based educational programmes for adolescents for incorporating both Spiritual and Secular Values to build culture of peace, personality and character. Ways of integrating values with school subjects (Science, Maths, History, Geography, Literature and Language) are presented where teachers resourcefulness and sincerity play an important role. It thereby seeks to help children lead a healthy effort is fairly needed in most of the developing countries of the world.

Servants of the People Society has been working actively in this regard with State Institute of Education on these issues since 1999 under the guidance of Dr. H.C.Sharma. Last year we were able to produce a Training Manual for Senior Secondary School Teachers to identify adolescent problems at school level in collaboration with Population Education Cell of S.I.E. Chandigarh under the leadership of Dr. Surinder Tangri and Ms. Jaswinder Kaur. This manual was released by Ms. Neeru Nanda, Advisor Chandigarh Administration on 12^th November 2002. Advocacy of implementation of this manual is at present being carried under the supervision of Dr. Saroj Saini and Mrs. Kamla Bains.

This manual illustrates some of the common adolescent health concerns. It is designed to be read by young people and secondary school teachers, and used by adults to facilitate discussion in schools' and community settings about emotions, mental disorders and stigma. This effort is not intended to offer a full explanation of the medical conditions described.

From this experience, I feel that adoption of a healthy life style is badly required at all levels along with a positive and healthy parenting. Through our awareness and health systems we shall be able to evolve this version in our system. I am personally convinced that this is the right movement to start Advocacy on Cultural Values for the improvement and Rehabilitation of Human Resource at global level.

I am always hear to share my experiences with you and for my orientation also. I shall be grateful to you if you could motivate the community to work for Rehabilitation of People Living With HIV/AIDS.

I am personally interested in Rehabilitation of PLWHA and Training of community level workers and Professionals along with Community Home Based Care training for family members of PLWHA.

The co-operation from administration and staff of above mentioned institutions and
people has been overwhelming and their response shows a keenness to be educated on
the various aspects of the malady of HIV/AIDS.

I remain your comrade in arms against this menace of AIDS,

Avnish

(Its old article written by me hope still useful)

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