Workshop For Three Metros

Date: August 28, 2003

HRIDAY (Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth) and SHAN (Student Health Action Network) model of school health education and activism, which has been functional and effective among 300 schools and 10 colleges in Delhi has been referred as 'best practice model' for tobacco control and has been recommended for replication in other parts of India. Under the auspicies of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and the World Health Organization, HRIDAY-SHAN held a two day workshop on August 27 - 28, 2003 at the India International Centre, New Delhi, for disseminating the HRIDAY-SHAN model of health promotion and advocacy (especially tobacco control) among youth, to 3 metropolitan cities: Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. This workshop was attended by representatives of 3 NGOs: Mrs. Medha Somaiya and Mrs. Seema Siyed from Yuvak Pratishthan, Mumbai; Mrs. Sunita Shaha and Mrs. Priya Dwivedi from Bhagirathi Neotia Centre for Woman and Child Care, Kolkata and Dr. B.K.S. Shastry and Dr. Anjana Tiwari from CARE Foundation Hyderabad.

As a part of this workshop, the NGO representatives from the 3 metros took part in a Community Outreach Programme organized by the students of Government Coeducational Senior Secondary School, A-6, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi. The students presented two skits on tobacco avoidance for awareness among lay people and took out a rally in the residential area of A-6 block of Paschim Vihar. The students disseminated the information to the community through health related posters, slogans and street play demonstrations. The Principal of the school Shri. Grahan Singh, while addressing the students emphasized that he and his school are completely committed to the cause of tobacco control and mentioned that he is willing to go to homes of individual students and convince their parents to quit their tobacco habit.
Dr. B.K.S. Shastry, a Cardiologist from CARE Foundation in Hyderabad informed the students about ill effects of tobacco use on health, especially heart diseases. Ms. Monika Arora, Programme Manager of HRIDAY-SHAN congratulated the students for their advocacy efforts in disseminating health awareness among masses and encouraged them to ensure that their home and families become free from tobacco.

Ms. Monika Arora
Programme Manager
HRIDAY-SHAN