A visit to a pre-secondary school in Gohri Maphi

Inquisitive children participate in a health & hygiene session

Sakshi, Anika, Priya, Radhika, Jyoti, Divyanshu, Anshuman, Rishab…
These pre-teens and their friends made up the audience for a talk on body hygiene and food and healthy living, given by Ganga Prem Hospice nurse Priyanka Kathayat and dietitian Nandini Rajput. Assisted and coordinated by GPH social workers Amisha Tiwari and Niharika Khanduri, the one-hour awareness session took place at the Government Pre-secondary School in Gohri Maphi, tucked away in Raiwala, between Haridwar and Rishikesh.

Starting with oral care, hand hygiene, skin, scalp and haircare, the GPH nurse explained with the help of a hand-made poster the importance of these daily activities. When dietitian Nandini spoke about healthy foods, the children had many questions, including whether the presenter herself enjoyed eating noodles and momos. When children asked about energy drinks they consumed that were laden with sugar, they were given healthy alternatives such as coconut water or lemonade. Some queries were related to blood glucose levels and even acidity.

Menstrual hygiene was also discussed, with the GPH team encouraging the girls to speak about any issues. Sanitary pad packs and protein powder sachets were distributed to the children. “This was our second talk at this school and I was happy that the children were so forward with their questions”, said one GPH team member. After an hour of talks and Q&A, the GPH team left the school, the children and their teachers with fond goodbyes.