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I went to my friend’s house a few days ago as she invited all her friends to her house. She lives in a village, named Didoli. They have 2 primary schools there called Anganwadi – आंगनवाड़ी in Didoli. An Anganwadi is a type of rural child care center in India. These were started and operated by the Government of India. We spent a lot of time at her house and had a lot of fun.
First, we watched a movie, then played a few games, and then went out for a walk in the village. We saw the primary school there which looked very beautiful. We all friends made a plan that we will go inside and teach the children something new and interesting. This being a very impromptu kind of plan, there was no time to prepare anything so we decided and went inside the school. A teacher was sitting inside, we greeted him and told him that we would like to talk to the children, explain and share knowledge about health and wellness in general. Being from healthcare ourselves, we thought that it would be the best idea to tell them about general health and wellness and we would not need to prepare too much very formally. We requested the teacher his time and permission, and being a kind teacher, he graciously permitted us, though he would accompany us to the classroom.
We started with one of the classes where the kids were very sincere and greeted us well. All other classes were great as well. We told the children where we came from and what are we going to tell them. We started by telling the children the right way to wash their hands, as that is the absolute basic way of preventing them from getting sick. The simple process is to wet your hands with preferably running water. Apply enough soap to cover all surfaces of your hands and wrists. Lather and rub your hands together briskly and thoroughly. Make sure to scrub all surfaces of your hands, fingertips, fingernails, and wrists. Scrub your hands and wrists for at least 20 seconds. Rinse your hands and wrists clean again preferably with running water. Dry your hands and wrists with a clean towel, or let them air dry. Finally, Use a towel to turn off the faucet.
The children understood very well and also cooperated with us as we showed them the process. It was very nice to explain to the little children and I think many of them didn’t realize the importance of washing their hands properly. Similarly, we then went to all the other classes and talked to them about the same thing. Then they had their lunch break where these children are given free food but the government of India that is a part of promoting education and making the environment healthy for them at the same time. We then went on to talk about more sanitation-related topics with them in and around their homes, schools, and other public premises where they typically go out to play. Topics such as the use of dustbins, cleaning after using toilets, washing utensils properly, and many other elements of everyday life that can invite unwanted sickness etcetera. It was a very informative session for the children as per the feedback we received from the teachers.
All the children were eating food while sitting on the ground during their recess time. We had the opportunity to also serve some food to the children. Some children were playing volleyball in the playground, so we went to them. We discussed some rules of the games with them to teach them to play by the rules of the game, as I personally can play volleyball well, so it was an easy and fun-filled task for me. Recently in our college during the Brahmotsav in our college, I got to play volleyball, so everything was still fresh in my mind.
Overall, it was a very good experience for me and my friends that we got by teaching children and giving them good knowledge. By doing good, my heart gets peace and happiness. In the future I see myself volunteering in such events more and more and sharing as much as I can to help make this world a little better one step at a time.
