Environmental degradation, disease, ignorance, malnutrition and child abuse, are exacting a heavy toll on the health and well-being of children across the country. Yet, little attention is being paid to educate them on health issues, with the subject usually relegated to the back burner.Determined to reverse this reality and educate students, teachers and the community about the importance of health education, Dr. Colin Yarham, founder-director of Health Education and Promotion International Inc (HEPI), an Australia based non-government organisation established in 1985, moved to India and set up base in Chennai in 1994. The mission of HEPI is to educate children on health issues and assist educators to initiate social development programmes for child healthcare.
Therefore for the past 14 years, Yarham and his five-strong locally recruited team have been working with the Tamil Nadu education department, school administrators and teachers to integrate health education in school curriculums and practices. A 400-page manual titled Schools Total Health Program, designed and written by Yarham with inputs from health activists, teachers, and doctors from 30 districts of Tamil Nadu, serves as the bible of this unique initiative. Today the HEPI health programme has reached 14 million children in 53,000 government schools and has prompted the state government to integrate chapters from the manual in the curriculum and allocate two periods per week for health education.
Theres an urgent need for a comprehensive health literacy programme for all school-going children. Our objective is to equip class I-XII students statewide with the knowledge, attitudes and skills to promote health within children, family and community. We also want to familiarise teachers with new health awareness pedagogies and practices. Thus far we have visited 30 of Tamil Nadus 31 districts to introduce our total health programme in schools and have trained over 200,000 teachers, says Yarham, a science and education postgraduate with a Ph D in health studies, who served as head of the department of health studies at University of Technology, Sydney, for 25 years. A veteran in his field, he has been a consultant to the World Health Organisation, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund and National Council for Education Research and Training, Delhi.
Available in English and Tamil, Schools Total Health Program offers constructive advice on social, safety and environmental health issues, nutrition, substance abuse and consumer health. Moreover teachers are provided with detailed lesson plans and strategies for teaching health issues effectively. A 280-page Lifeskills Resource Manual equips teachers with information and ideas to plan stimulating classroom lessons.
However, despite the thoroughness of HEPIs school health awareness programme, Yarham is disappointed with its progress and is all set to re-visit the 30 districts to re-train teachers. Math and language literacy is of little use if a childs health is poor. The best way to ensure children lead healthy and productive lives is to equip them with health and life skills education, says Yarham.
The force be with you!
Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai)