SPH organizes Training Workshop for 66 School Teachers

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 12^th May:- School of Public Health (SPH),PGI in collaboration with Rotary club Chandigarh organized WinS( Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in schools) training workshop for  66 school teachers, Rotary staff of Chandigarh on 12^th May 2017 at SPH,PGI. The training of trainers was conducted as a part of WinS project being implemented by Rotary club of Chandigarh. The teachers were trained about school based interventions, WASH guidelines, Life skills education and Menstrual Hygiene management. They will further train students in their respective schools. The workshop had key resource persons from PGI, Rotary and educationists from Chandigarh.  Dr JS Thakur, Professor, School of Public Health, PGI sensitized participants about school based interventions i.e awareness on personal hygiene and behaviour modifications. He shared WASH indicators of Chandigarh schools and informed that indicators are fair but there is scope of improvement. He also talked about convergence of all activities for success of the project. He stressed to make menstruation as part of broader health promotion and emphasized on responsible reproductive behavior.

Mr Madhukar Malhotra , Rotary club, Chandigarh emphasized on change in mindset regarding Menstrual Hygiene. Dr Paramjyoti ,School Health program Officer and Nodal officer Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) ,Chandigarh administration discussed about RKSK in Chandigarh  and role of peer educators for implementation of  menstrual hygiene. She also high lightened about Weekly Iron-Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) program in Chandigarh and suggested separate integrated sessions on menstruation for adolescent boys and girls.

Dr Bhavneet Bharti,Additional Professor,Advanced Paediatric Centre ,PGI informed participants about menstruation and taboos prevalent about menstruation. Mrs Reema Dewan,Director, Community services,Rotary club explained  life skill education through an interactivse session.She stressed on importance of  open discussions about menstrual hygiene and role of teachers. She focused on sustainability of the project .Group work for action plan was  conducted among participants .The themes of group work were Maintenance  and Sustainability of WASH Facilities in schools and Importance of Menstrual Hygiene among adolescent girls and  boys. It was suggested to have swachhtta(cleanliness) monitors , participation of School management committees and local councilors for maintenance and sustainability of WinS project. It was also suggested to have Skits, Nukar Nataks, lectures for promoting menstrual hygiene and constitution of menstrual hygiene clubs with active participation of both teachers and parents.