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| Sarika helped us so much with our class for the girls! |
Medical check-ups, for anyone (doctors included), can be a
bit daunting. Studying personal health and hygiene, especially if you are
female, can also be daunting! But, when “Sisters” and our “students” are
involved, everything seems more fun.
Thus, this weekend at Nav Jeevan, we have undertaken a few
big medically focused endeavors. On Saturday, Katie and I, along with Sarika,
one of the teachers (as a Hindi translator), planned a “Care and Keeping of
You” class for the 6
th through 9
th grade girls. Principal
Vicky allowed us to teach during the school day to reach both the day scholars
and the hostel children, as she said neither were well educated on the subject.
We talked first about good and bad touching, so that the girls understand that
their bodies are theirs alone and must be respected by all. As their teachers
and people who care about them, we aimed to help them gain confidence in
protecting themselves actively from people who attempt “bad touches.”
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| Deepanshu and Deepali are brother and sister. They live in the hostel together and both had excellent check-ups. |
After Katie and I gave a comical, and more importantly
memorable, demonstration of what is good and what is bad in touching, we moved
on to female health. Giving the girls a description of how female bodies change
during puberty is something that seemed easy on paper. I drafted a lesson plan,
we went over it with Sarika, and made sure we included answers to questions the
girls could possibly have. But, when the time came, the talk proved more
difficult than I expected since I had never before taught the subject! In the
end, though, I am so glad we did it. The girls were rapt with attention. This
was the first time, to quote Katie, that “you could hear a pin drop” during our
4 weeks at Nav Jeevan (including during the night!!!). And, even before we were
finished, the girls began to raise their hands and ask such impressive
questions! One girl even pointed out that the age of menstruation has been
decreasing in the hostel and initiated a discussion regarding possible causes.
My jaw dropped for a moment before I could answer, as her question was so
astute.
Seeing that the class for the girls was so successful, we
are now planning a sex education class. To try to be sensitive to the fact that
both the boys and girls need this education, we are going to collaborate with
volunteers another organization, the Rainbow House, who we met through the
German girls who recently volunteered here. Fortunately, they are all young
men! We hope they will be able to join us on February 14, so that we can teach
the girls with Sarika and they can teach the boys with some of the male
teachers at the school.
Mamta, one of the 5
th grade hostel girls, told me
the other day that she dreams of being a doctor who serves women and girls
throughout India living in poverty. So, together, Mamta and I have begun giving
the children checkups after school. At first, Katie helped me record each
child’s results so that if we have enough data we can perhaps compare the
health of the hostel children to the health of the day scholars. But, as soon
as Mamta realized what our plans were, she commandeered the computer and has
taken on the role of nurse! Even more so, Mamta is wonderful at it! She has
learned so quickly how to read our spreadsheet and input the data. She also now
administers the thermometer to her peers to check their temperature while she
is taking down their personal information. So far, we have checked 19 patients,
including Mamta, and tomorrow we will begin again at 3pm after school.
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| Mampta is the girl in the red shirt. This picture is an excellent vantage point...the blur being indicative of the incredible speed at which the children are always moving, and the faces showing the excitement with which they are always acting! |
The time I have spent with Mamta doing the checkups has
taught me a lot. She has such curiosity for learning anything and everything,
especially when it is related to medicine. But, she always is explaining what
she is doing and trying to share her knowledge with others. I admire this about
her a lot and I think it will serve her immensely when she becomes the
physician she so badly wants to be.
What is shocking is the reason Mamta is in
the Nav Jeevan hostel. She told me when I first arrived here that she has been
in three hostels prior to arriving here. All three other hostels expelled her
for bad behavior. However, here at Nav Jeevan, Mamta finally found caring
Wardens, teachers, friends, and volunteers. She has begun to flourish and grow
in kindness. I think, when Mamta becomes a doctor, it will be Nav Jeevan she
thanks first.
