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Author: Smile Editorial Team

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In The Spotlight

Girl Child Education – A Positive Outbreak

Girl Child Education – A Positive Outbreak

In today’s world we have begun to realise that girl child education is essential. Earlier people thought that girl child education was not necessary. This modern age describes the awakening in the female group in many productive ways. They are way ahead compared to men in many spheres of life. The argument on educating a girl child is still prevalent in our society but considering the fact that women are capable of achieving anything nowadays, we can hold back the views of the oppositions. We can see many women leading the economic and social sector way ahead with successful results. Girls are bringing a silent revolution in the society.

 

Girl child education can play an important role in the development of our society as well as country and also has several other advantages. Girls are serving the country in many fields ranging from sports, science, literature and all kinds of political affairs. The view of seeing girl only as a housewife has changed and now girls are way ahead scoring positive results with the help of education. Women have even gone to the borders of our country to defend our country from the enemies.

 

 

Education has benefitted our female population even in this modern age of economic crisis. They are independent and also bring income in the household. Even after marriage educated girls are able to add to the family income along with the husband and also if their husband expires she has the capacity to fend herself and not be dependent on others.

 

A home is peaceful and blessed if a girl child is educated. People have become broad minded about girl child education  currently. Though there are people who still oppose girl child education but we can’t deny the fact that girls are capable of doing big in life. A man himself is happy to have an educated mother, wife or daughter. The future of the country also depends on the upbringing of the children in the right direction and if a mother is educated it adds to the effort of conclusive results.

 

Education empowers women to have a better outlook on life making her aware of her rights and responsibilities. An educated woman knows when to stand up for her rights and also fight against the problem of gender-inequality. Education also gives a woman freedom of thought and the ability and confidence to express her feelings in the right manner. Every girl has the right to be aware, pursue knowledge and learn. Education of these girls would have positive impact on both economy and society.

 

 

Education of girls from rural and remote parts of India is equally important. These girls get even lesser opportunities for education due to extremely limited resources and access. However, with both the Government (Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao initiative) and civil society organizations focusing on the education and welfare of girls, the situation is getting better every day.

 

Smile Foundation keeps girl children and women at the core of all its programmes, be it livelihood, education, healthcare or community engagement. We believe that when women are educated and empowered, the whole society benefits – their children go to school, families are healthier, and communities grow more prosperous. To know about our girl child and women empowerment programme, visit: http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/swabhiman.html

 

Our country’s progress depends on the education of girls. We should all step forward and encourage girl child education. We can make the difference and bring concrete change in the face of our country. All we need is to be united and put an extra effort to ensure that our girl children are educated, aware and empowered.

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In The Spotlight

Primary Healthcare in India- solutions for change vis a vis Sustainable Development Goals

Primary Healthcare in India- solutions for change vis a vis Sustainable Development Goals

The situation of primary healthcare in India is a poor one. It is a result of poor sensitisation, lack of education, lack of mobilisation and the nonavailability of resources as and when required.

 

There are several definitions of primary health care, but most have the following key elements:

 

Primary healthcare includes preventive, promotive and curative care;

Care is provided within or closer to the communities they serve, almost at the doorstep;

Primary health care is universal in nature, but focuses on the most vulnerable and marginalised;

It provides person- focused and population-focused care rather than disease-focused care.

 

Because of these features, primary health care helps in promoting health-related behaviour, preventing ill health, and detecting and treating the illnesses early, closer to where families live.

After the eight Millennium Development Goals were adopted in 2000 and have shaped progress in the past 15 years, the new Sustainable Development Agenda ‘Transforming Our World: the 2030 agenda for sustainable development’ was adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2015.

 

17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by governments, including India, of which SDG3 explicitly relates to health—to “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”. This goal is translated into 13 targets: three relate to reproductive and child health; three to communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, and addiction; two to environmental health; and one to achieving universal health coverage (UHC).

 

SDG3 places health at the centre of all solutions for change. It recognises that the only way to provide primary health care services is through a comprehensive approach. It focuses on people as whole individuals and recognises that their healthcare needs will change throughout their life and therefore promotes a life-cycle approach to health as a solution for change.  For example, rather than addressing antenatal care and child health as medical conditions, a comprehensive approach views women and children as whole human beings with changing needs. It also recognises and emphasises the universality of primary healthcare and focuses on key elements-preventive, promotive and curative as solutions of change.

 

Global evidence suggests that countries with strong and comprehensive primary health care systems have better health outcomes, lower inequalities in these outcomes, and lower costs of care.

 

India’s National Health Policy 2016, along with the budgetary announcements made in February 2018, takes a two-pronged approach for strengthening primary healthcare in India:

 

  1. Improving access and quality of primary healthcare in India through strengthening 150,000 sub-centers (transforming them to health and wellness centers), and
  2. Improving access to secondary and tertiary care through a near-universal health insurance scheme.

 

The policy recognises the pivotal importance of Sustainable Development Goals and outlines key strategies to achieve these goals. It focuses on Universal health coverage (UHC) as a solution for change- to ensure that all people and communities receive the primary health care in India that they need, without suffering financial hardship.

 

One of the key challenges facing India in terms of UHC is reaching the un-reached with quality primary health care services. Mobile Health clinics have served as a solution for change, in reaching the vulnerable and marginalised populations living in remote, difficult to reach areas as well as for communities that are cut off from mainstream services on account of hilly terrains, flood-prone areas etc. They have also played a significant role in the delivery of health services to uninsured or under-insured populations.

 

These clinics represent the critical link between communities and hospital settings and are effective in bridging this gap, thereby leading to social transformation and empowerment, eventually improving health outcomes and making quality primary health care services a demand-driven social norm. The long-term impact of such interventions is that mobile health clinics are able to reduce out of pocket expenditure and produce significant cost savings by reducing hospital visits and length of hospital admissions. Mobile clinics thus represent a cost-effective care delivery model to improve health outcomes in vulnerable groups in communities.

 

Smile Foundation has been a key player in the provision of primary healthcare in India through its Mobile Health Clinic – Smile on Wheels (SoW) in different parts of the country. The Smile on Wheels is a primary healthcare programme, providing a comprehensive range of health care services to underprivileged communities in remote rural areas and urban slums across the country.

 

Apart from its SOW programme, Smile Foundation organises customised health camps extensively across the country. These camps offer a range of comprehensive health services – curative, preventive, health promotion and referral services to a large number of people in select intervention areas. The health camps have a multi-disciplinary team comprising of specialist: OBGYNs, paediatricians, ophthalmologist, and surgeons. The uniqueness of the model lies in its comprehensive approach wherein health promotion and prevention are given equal importance alongside curative healthcare services. Smile Foundation has impacted more than 17 lac lives through comprehensive primary healthcare in India, in the last 5 years.

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Insights

Child For Child: To Interact, Involve and Engage

Child For Child: To Interact, Involve and Engage

“Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.”- Rabindranath Tagore

 

A Magic called childhood

 

The world of children is pure & innocent. It’s a world where they are shielded from the intricate web of lies & deceit. It’s a world where they are their own masters & the universe is their playground. They live a life with friends, books, games, art & culture. They know that it is their day & their age. They feel they can surpass all mountains & climb to the pinnacle of glory. They are full of passion & compassion. They know that it is through sheer hard work they can conquer what they have set out for. At Child for Child, Smile Foundation, we believe that we should allow children to continue to believe in themselves, to continue to carry their magic wand that helps them win.

 

That magic wand is called perseverance. Children do not give up as easily as adults do. They are more resilient than adults and have a high tolerance for failure. They believe they can fight their demons if they have the right spells. And to get their spells right, they persevere. They aren’t born magicians. They work hard & smart to be one.

 

We strongly believe that every child has some magical talent, which could be latent & which if nurtured can be the potential that the child was born to achieve. According to India’s population census 2011, India has the world’s largest child population. The Constitution of India guarantees Fundamental Rights to all children in the country. We as adults need to protect these rights for them. We need to nurture their talents, prod them to ask questions, encourage them to be more curious & be prepared to answer their queries.

 

Child for Child

 

Smile Foundation’s Child for Child vertical works very closely with schools to foster a sense of self worth & an ability to persevere amongst children. We work with students, teachers & parents to create a world where children are aware, parents are knowledgeable & teachers are sincere. Awareness, Knowledge & sincerity are those qualities that can make the world a better place for the children, for their parents & the teachers. We want a cohesive structure that creates a holistic environment for these three important links to coexist. As in life, so in any structure, there will be those links that can rust, can crack or even break away. Yet, we endeavour to join the links and ensure that the cycle of life continues. We want schools to be a haven for all who attend. We want schools to be the place where children want to go, each day & every day. Hence we work closely with students, parents & teachers such that the heart feels what the brain wants.

 

At Child for Child we envision to go beyond. We aim to bring in more values into the system which perpetuates a civic driven change. We want people to take responsibility for each other. We want them to be our ambassadors of goodwill and goodness. And yes we believe in working with people right from their childhood. At schools we work on all disciplines that impact the development & well-being of children. We not only conduct workshops for students, but also for their parents and the teachers. Life skills are such that people need to be constantly reminded that they can inculcate more of it all the time, every time.

 

 

A workshop in progress for Parents in one of our partner schools in Siliguri

 

We also work on developing higher order of thinking amongst children via the medium of movie screenings. Movies that are high on empathy & moral values, and sits well with children’s sensibilities, foster an amazingly evolved level of conversation & discussion amongst them. Movies have a very high recall value amongst humans due to its visual content and powerful dialogues. After watching a movie we have noticed that children tend to grasp rather quickly the wealth of values and knowledge that the director had tried to convey in the movie. Critiquing a book or a movie pushes children to a higher level of consciousness.

 

At Child for Child, we also explore few short moments within the school setup, where we share our experiences of working with the underprivileged community. These short moments come by way of Assembly Talks, where, in a crisp and appealing way we share our narrative with children and engage them in acts of empathy. Early morning assemblies in school add a feather to the caps of children. It, in a way sets the tone for the rest of their day. Prayers are said, stories are shared and felicitations are done. Assemblies mobilize children in huge numbers and facilitate our connection with them quite effectively.

 

 

An Assembly talk in progress in our partner school in Jalandhar

 

As Smile Foundation’s Child for Child vertical increases its outreach to millions of children, we are striving to create a generation of empathetic individuals who while becoming better human beings, spread a wealth of knowledge & happiness around them. We aim to be proactive in our move towards sensitizing our community partners towards various aspects that will make this world a better place for our children.

 

Wait to hear from us as we share more stories about our journey.

 

You can volunteer for change at: https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/volunteers.asp

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Smile

Underprivileged children visit Atal Tinkering Lab

Underprivileged children visit Atal Tinkering Lab

I went on an event for Child for Child on 21st December with a team of 25 students from our ME center Holy Mother English School, located in Malwani (Malad) to Ryan International School. These are underprivileged children and belong to households with poor financial standings and can hardly afford to have such experiences. All of them, after the session came back with an experience of lifetime.

 

At the venue, our students spent considerable time at the Atal Tinkering Lab. The Lab Instructor shared a brief background on the journey of ‘Atal Tinkering Labs’ and explained the various components that make up the lab (such as drilling workstation, mechanical workstation, printing, etc). Soon after, a student from Ryan presented some of his projects, the concepts behind the project and the scientific principles involved. Inspired by this, our students shared their own experiences and ideas on ‘how can they develop a buzzer with LED blinkers that signal when the water tanker is full, thereby avoiding wastage of water’. Later on, we were taken to the assembly hall where cultural programs, games as well as Christmas gift distribution was organised for the students, all of which they thoroughly enjoyed.

 

On our way back from Ryan, I took the opportunity to speak with our students, and learn about their overall experiences and takeaways from the event. It was amazing to know that even if they cannot get much facilities these underprivileged children have so many great ideas.

 

 “So, what did you like the most?” I asked the students. About 6 eager hands sprung up in the air, unable to contain their excitement and keen to share their observations with me. “Access to the tinkering lab where students can create and design so many innovative science projects”, said one. “The sprawling campus and the cleanliness all around”, said another.

 

 

As I was keenly making mental notes, next came the response “the student councils facilitated the entire event effortlessly. I couldn’t help but notice they needed very little directions from their teachers. They must be well-prepared”. This was very well articulated, I thought to myself. “Didi… the students who performed cultural activities such as choir and group dance were so confident, graceful and looked so happy. Their coordination was perfect.” “These are certainly the qualities I would like to imbibe”, whispered one of the quietest students in the group, almost in agreement with the previous response.

 

Come to think of it, these are not surface-level observations and certainly not intended to please anyone – these responses came straight from the heart and with a genuine sense of appreciation and admiration! The tinkering lab was a great opportunity for underprivileged children to draw inspiration from their counterparts at Ryan, and identify problems in their daily lives that could be solved by way of possessing a scientific bent of mind, and a bit of thoughtfulness!

 

In all honestly, I didn’t quite anticipate the profoundness! Sure, I was thrilled about the potential outcome of such exchange programs that enable student-to-student interaction, provide much needed exposure to students from under-resourced schools, while also sensitizing students in elites schools. However, I was fearful that without any orientation, this experience could be a bit overwhelming for some students if not all.

 

Their eyes light up and their excitement knows no bounds every time the students share their experiences from Ryan, and that to me is an indicator of the success and impact of such programs.

 

To enable more underprivileged children to go to school and have such experiences you can visit https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/me/

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Insights

Women empowerment – What can we do

Women empowerment – What can we do

A women’s safety is ensured through her empowerment. Women have always been handling household works but we should support them and motivate them to take their own decisions and do their best in all fields. They must be encouraged to follow their desires and passions and let them choose their careers. We must let her focus on her professional work. Equal opportunities of education must be provided. We must build a safe and comfortable environment for them. We must teach others about the abilities of a woman. We must respect their individuality and must also try to share domestic work, only then will be be able to step on the path to women empowerment.

 

Narrow minded mentality creates a barrier for women empowerment, which is not good for any country’s future. These are the people who are judgemental towards working women. It is unfortunate that we have to fight daily to change the mindsets of people to end gender discrimination. Many families don’t give their daughters enough space and freedom to make her own decisions or follow her dreams and hobbies; hence stopping  empowerment of women in it’s track.

 

Poverty has also been restricting women’s education. Poor women do not have enough money to let their children attend schools to get proper education. They cannot afford to educate their daughters and send them to good schools which ultimately allow them to get themselves employed and earn a living. Being financially independent allows them to make their own decisions, stand on their own and develop their financial skills.

 

Illiteracy restricts women from health and social awareness whereas literacy allows their economic growth and development. A large population of the illiterate people constitute women who are unprivileged from basic education. Health education is very important as it makes us aware of different health issues and their cures. Literate women can work in the private sectors and earn a good amount of money to support her and family. Women participation in economic growth of our country cannot be ignored so we must do our best to make every girl child get basic and quality education.

 

What we can do

 

We must make sure that women get a safe and comfortable environment everywhere, whether it is her home or the place she is working at. this will encourage more and more women and it would also let them trust their colleagues and the people who work in the same workplace.

 

We can help women to develop their decision making power by letting them choose their own careers and practice their hobbies. We must not be forcing them to get married soon or to give all of their time in household work.

 

We must encourage them to get proper education, which would not make them literate and find a good job, but also would make them aware of various health issues and problems and their precautions. It also saves them from diseases like AIDS which is chronic and can lead to death.

 

We must try to boost their confidence by letting them share their opinions and speak in front of people. We can discuss the things that are happening in the world and ask what they think about a specific thing that has happened, this will also develop their speaking skills and build their self esteem, it will help them express themselves more and better.

 

Smile Foundation’s programme – Swabhiman, meaning self-respect in English, was initiated in 2005 to address these challenges through a simple yet effective approach. The programme is specifically aimed at realization of both individual and collective self-esteem and inner strength for marginalised and socially excluded women and adolescent girls through innovative community practices.

 

A tailor-made strategy called the ‘4 S Model’ has been developed under Swabhiman for women empowerment. The ‘4 S Model’ is an acronym for four novel approaches, namely Seeking Healthcare as a Behaviour, Support for Education, Supporters through Male Involvement, and Sustaining the Change in Communities.

 

The programme identifies adolescent girls and women from the community and develops them into Change Agents, who in turn actively contribute to the community mobilisation process.

 

So far, Swabhiman has successfully made a difference to the lives of over 500,000 women and girl children, successfully stepping into the path of women empowerment.

 

To help girls go to school and to make a difference visit: https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/she-can-fly/

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Insights

AAO BAAT KAREIN – Session On Sexual Awareness

AAO BAAT KAREIN – Session On Sexual Awareness

A person always knows which touch is good and which one is not. But you cannot say the same about children. They are quite vulnerable when it comes to sexual awareness. You might see kids touching each other or even showing their private parts to each other.  The consequence of a sexual encounter at such a tender age ends up having serious implications and traumatic when the child grows up. In India, parents are always an active partaker in the lives of their children, addressing all their needs and problems. But when it comes to sexual awareness, they step back. This leads to children encountering situations they are not equipped to deal with due to lack of awareness. The first person to discuss sex education with them should be the parent who can explain the good and the bad in a confidential and safe space to young minds.

 

Smile Foundation, with a Mission Education partner, conducted a sexual awareness session at the Noida center. More than 220 children attended the session and were involved in discussion on their sexuality as well as the need of awareness around the wrong sexual encounter.

 

Sexual abuse of the children can be happen in any form –  physically, visually or mentally. If someone is touching them inappropriately, or someone is making them touch themselves in a wrong way, or if children are asked to see something which is not proper comes in the category of sexual abuse.

 

Such cases are increasing every year. With more than 19,000 child rape cases have been registered all over the country under the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POSCO) act and 36,000 cases of child sexual abuse, yet most of the cases go unreported. This makes such sessions on sexual rights awareness even more important to protect our children.

 

 

The awareness session also gave instances about the different scenarios in which such sexual abuse might take place. It might be school, home, lanes, or even at your relative or friend’s place. Most of the incidences taking place involve someone already acquainted with children which makes it even more difficult and confusing for the children to talk about the trauma to their parents or any adult. Communicating to the children that any such kind of abuse or discomfort situation must be first disclosed to parents or any elder trustworthy by the children is a step closer to making them safer and also avoiding even graver form abuse.

 

Taking children into confidence and providing them with a safe and trustworthy environment to open up about their sexuality and most importantly the abuse some of them might have encountered in the past is of acute necessity in the present times. As these sessions end, it is observed that the children also find facilitators and care givers trustworthy and someone with whom they can share their secrets. They tend to open up to these caregivers and also find themselves in a place where they can seek support as well as justice in case of abuse.

 

Smile Foundation intends to end the stigma associated with sex education and sexual abuse including to provide all the children with an open and safe space to grow in. Together with the support of like-minded partners like Parwarish Care Foundation, Smile hopes to bring a day where no child faces the trauma and pain of sexual abuse and what it leads to as he/she grows up.

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Insights

Digital Learning in Gonda

Digital Learning in Gonda

In India, a few districts are marked as Aspirational Districts with special focus from the Govt. and corporate supporters to bring them at par with schools providing quality education in the rest of the country. However, most of these regions are just marginally above the benchmark of Aspirational District; Gonda of UP is one such district. In 2006, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj stated Gonda as one of the country’s 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). Gonda needs special attention in school education to strengthen itself to bring it to the level of national average specially in terms of advance education. In a bid to aid in achieving the same, Smile Foundation is taking steps to bring a “digital pahal” in the region by introducing digital learning in the district.

 

 

Gonda was chosen, to provide support in Govt. schools through digital classrooms. Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited is supporting Smile Foundation’s initiative to bring about 10000+ students in the fold of advance digital education. 18 Smart Classes have been installed in 17 schools across the district.   Joint reconnaissance visit of Smile Foundation and ABCL team with necessary consultation process was at the head of the finalisation of the schools with district administration, education department, local grassroots level social worker and other organisations. With an aim to make education more interactive and engaging for students to help them reach their highest potential is the thought behind the entire program.

 

District authority during the process of inauguration of smart classes for digital learning in classrooms has appreciated this initiative on a very high note. It is considered to provide access to modern digital content based on the curriculum of the Board of High School and Intermediate Education, UP curriculum under the National Curriculum Framework to teachers and students of the schools.

 

 

The project will address the issue of gap in quality of teaching, standardized content, personalized attention on students with learning deficit especially in English and Science, focusing on students up to class X level. The intervention will standardize teaching and improve interest of students in their academic subjects and their academic grades. In short to medium term, the project will address absenteeism. It will also work on 5E principal of education for optimum level of involvement of the students

 

  1. Engage
  2. Explore
  3. Explain
  4. Elaborate
  5. Evaluate

 

Apart from everything it would be worth mentioning that an ethical and dedicated team of Smile Foundation is relentlessly working with the community to make this program a success and turn it to a community driven initiative in near future.

 

To donate for education visit: https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/me/

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In The Spotlight

Celebrating Her: International Day of the Girl Child

A Short History of Nonprofits in India
A Short History of Nonprofits in India

In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution adopting 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child, recognising girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls around the world face realising them. This day was recognised to inspire girls to break chains and take successful steps towards their futures.

 

In 1995, the fourth World Conference on Women made history for the women’s rights agenda with the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action which fought for gender equality and the empowerment of all women, everywhere.

 

Keeping the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in mind, as we celebrate this year’s theme set by the United Nations Women; Girl Force: Unscripted and Unstoppable, we bring you stories of courage and determination from Smile Foundation beneficiaries who have broken boundaries to achieve what is rightfully theirs.

 

 

Komal

 

“Didi, do you know the joy of touching the keys of a keyboard? You touch them and the alphabets appear on the screen. It is magical.”

 

Komal is a beneficiary of Smile Foundation’s Mission Education programme. At her village where girl child education is not considered important Komal has broken out of the shackles of oppression. She convinced her parents to let her go to school instead of getting married at a young age. The second child of Meena and Ajit, every morning Komal races her brothers to school. She is unstoppable now and takes a keen interest in the subjects of mathematics and science and dreams of becoming a scientist when she grows up.

 

 

Moumita

 

“Growing up, I realized that if there is anything I want in my life, it is to be able to fly. I want to become a cabin crew member.”

 

Moumita’s parents who own a small grocery shop realized the importance of girl child education very early. Her mother who was uneducated could not do much to help her father run the house. When Moumita was born they had decided to give her the best of everything but she could not pursue higher education because of poor financial condition.    

 

When Moumita joined Smile Foundation’s STeP employability training course in the hope of turning her dreams into reality her parents were her support system. Today, she feels confident after honing her English Speaking Skills. The Personality development classes taught her that her goal might be far away, but it is still achievable. Because of the STeP Course, the belief in her dream stands tall today. This International Day of the Girl Child she pledges to mobilize and sensitize girls like her to become self-sufficient.

 

 

Gauri

 

“Since I wasn’t allowed to go to school by my grandparents, I would try to get inside my brother’s school building to see how classrooms looked like. One of my brother’s female classmates tried to teach me to write my name in English. I was trying to learn those alphabets with sincere efforts. But one day, they caught me while climbing the school wall. Although they spared me with a warning, but ensured that I never enter the school again. It’s been 22 years now that I’m still waiting to write my name in English. I think my youngest daughter won’t keep me away from my dream!”

 

Gauri was married off at a young age but that did not stop her from educating her daughters. She fully understands the importance of girl child education. This International Day of the Girl Child she pledges to  learn the alphabets from her daughters and hopes to start reading stories to her daughters soon.

 

This International Day of the Girl Child we at Smile Foundation pledge to educate. empower and ensure that all girls have access to quality education and a dignified life.

 

To know more: https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/she-can-fly/

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In The Spotlight

Girl Child Education: Weapon to fight Child Marriage

Cause Related Marketing For NGOs

Only recently, three girls from this nondescript village called Gavra, in the dairy district of Gujarat, Banaskantha revolted when their parents insisted on getting them married before 18. Not only did they refuse to marry before the legal age, but they also threatened to lodge an FIR with the local police, fighting for their right: girl child education.

 

Thereafter, similar incidents of resistance against child marriage were heard from neighbouring villages.

 

All thanks to this woman Sarpanch Gamar Kamlaben Dineshbhai  (24), that these women could together raise a voice against an illegal practice which was considered normal in the district.

 

 

“It has been more than a year since I started heading the office of Sarpanch for my village, and not a day went by when I did not think about how I could bring improvement in the lives of young women. When I met with social workers from NGO Smile Foundation Geetaben and Yogitaben, they had similar concerns about our village,” said Sarpanch Kamlaben Dineshbhai

 

“They put forth the idea of educating young women and adolescent girls. I got my strength from them and thereafter we together went from one house to the other to talk about the importance of girl child education pushing parents to send their girls to school,” she explained.

 

According to the Sarpanch, a lot of these girls found new confidence and voice after starting school. “School gave them the confidence to pursue higher studies, to learn about the negative impact of early marriages and poor nutrition on their physical growth, health, mental development. It was then that they started raising a voice for their rights even at home.”

 

The Sarpanch explained that most people in the community were poor with limited means and hence invested all their resources in farming and cattle rearing, rather than education. While boys were still expected to go to school, girls, particularly after achieving adolescence were married off early or expected to manage the household chores.

 

A recent Unicef India report said, “While regional disparities exist, child marriage has significantly decreased from 47 per cent (2006) to 27 per cent (2016).” The report also showed that child marriage is more prevalent in rural areas (48 per cent) than in urban areas (29 per cent).

 

“Child Marriage has long term detrimental impact on the health of the girls. These girls are not even physically prepared for child birth, let along other household and child rearing responsibilities,” said Santanu Mishra, co-founder and trustee, Smile Foundation.



“Only by concerted effort by all the stakeholders, non-profits, governments, parents and the community, we can safe-guarding the interests of children. Targeted interventions by nonprofits and government bodies can make an impact. Focus should be on educating and empowering girls.” 

 

To know more visit: https://www.smilefoundationindia.org/she-can-fly/

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In The Spotlight

Tackling anemia the right way in adolescent girls

Tackling anemia the right way in adolescent girls

Educating girls, holds the key to improving anemia levels and overall well being. Smile Foundation, with support from PepsiCo Foundation and state government looked at fighting anemia by training adolescent girls in knowing their body, learning about nutrition and right eating.

 

Covering 1000 young adolescent girls from 10 villages in the Banaskantha district of Gujarat, project Sampoorna, trained the girls in cultivating right eating habits for a year long period.

 

Smile Foundation roped in Chef Vikas Khanna to prepare a laddoo using maize, lentils and jaggery among other things to create a rich dose of iron. With bi-weekly doses of ladoo, and two weekly tablets of iron folic the iron levels in the girls saw more than 80% hb level enhancement over a one year period.

 

“When we started working in the region, we initially met with a lot of resistance as people were not willing to send girls to school, they did not understand that educating girls is important for development. So along side, counselling and workshops, we also conducted a baseline study of around 1000 girls to assess the overall status of adolescent girls (14 to 19 years) in the region,” said Nirmala Mishra, vice president, special projects, Smile Foundation.

 

“The findings revealed that 78% of adolescent girls were anaemic (varying from mild to severe), with 50% girls being moderately anaemic and about 13% being severely anaemic. The survey also revealed that only 17.6% were attending schools, with most respondents (49%) dropping out of school after Class 6 or 8. The study further revealed that around 84% of the respondents have never consumed any multi-vitamin or iron folic acid supplements, and most of them having no awareness of anemia or ever having checked their anaemic status,” she said.

 

The researchers felt that all these could be tackled if girl child education was given priority and they were sent to school and trained in nutrition, hygiene and body among other things. And thereby another effort started to counsel parents to encourage their girls to go to school.

 

Senma Rushika Seddhabai

 

“I simply hated being a girl child because we were restricted from studying and often forced to marry early. When an Anganwadi didi and a social worker from NGO- Smile Foundation making rounds of our village to persuade parents to send girls to school,” said – Dharmavt Sangeetaben Babuji (15 years) from Kakawada in Banaskantha, Gujarat.

 

“They spoke on the importance of becoming independent, eating right, gender equity, and health among other things. They helped all the girls to get enrolled in school and pushed them to complete their education,” she said.

 

“When I started attending school my hb level was very low. The counsellors urged me to start eating green and leafy vegetables everyday and told me about other iron rich food items easily available in the local market. I started taking them on a regular basis and in a few weeks, I started feeling much stronger,” Senma Rushika Seddhabai, Veerampur village, Banaskantha, Gujarat.

 

“After following a balanced diet for 3-4 months, my hb levels had shot up from 7(g/dlL) to 11(g/dlL), the highest among all other girls who attended the group meetings. I love to take long walks in the evening without being dizzy.”

 

Normal haemoglobin for women is 12 gram per decilitre (g/dlL) and men 13 g/dL.  Iron-deficiency anemia in India is rampant among children below the age of three (78.9%) and women (55%); men follow at 24%, according to the National Family Healthy Survey, 2004-05 (NFHS-3).

 

 

“India carries the highest burden of the disease despite having an anemia control programme for over 70 years. Consistent efforts made by various stakeholders through the past years to fight this disease have shown little result,” said Santanu Mishra, trustee and co-founder, Smile Foundation.

 

“This particular one-year pilot has shown us that classroom training, regular monitoring and a little bit of hand holding can go a long way in helping us battle anemia,” said Mishra.

 

Mishra emphasised on the need to inculcate health-seeking behaviour in community. “This can only happen with lots of awareness and education around these critical subjects. At Smile Foundation, the thrust is on education, as we believe that good health among other things will automatically follow if these populations are empowered.” he said.

 

Anemia is a disease in which a person has an inadequate number of red blood cells or haemoglobin count, which hinders the capacity of the blood to carry oxygen. The basic symptoms of this anaemia are fatigue, weakness, lethargy, shortness of breath and decreased concentration.

 

Anemia is widespread in India–58.6% of children, 53.2% of non-pregnant women and 50.4% of pregnant women were found to be anaemic in 2016, as per the NFHS.

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