| 1) | FURTHER DEVELOP A PROGRAM OF SOCIETAL AWARENESS IN SCHOOLS. SCHOOL STUDENTS, WITH HELP FROM TEACHERS, PRODUCE MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATIONS ON SOCIETAL CONCERNS USING INFORMATION THEY GATHER FROM WWW, BOOKS; GENERATE ON THEIR OWN; USE WHAT I PROVIDE | |
| 2) | DEVELOP A CURRICULUM ON HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT, SEXUALITY, AND LIFESKILLS FOR SCHOOLS. | |
| 3) | PROVIDE AWARENESS ON HIV/AIDS, HEPATITIS B, HEPATITIS C AND HOW TO PROTECT THEMSELVES. | |
| 4) | PROVIDE AWARENESS ON ADDICTIONS -- ALCOHOL, SMOKING, DRUGS -- AND THEIR EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN AND ON FAMILY. |
LECTURES TO STUDENTS; My experience with giving HIV/AIDS lectures to students/youth is that the message should reach, and be acceptable to, students, teachers and the principal. Otherwise the school will not sponsor follow ups. Format and outline of my talk
SUMMARY OF THE MESSAGE OF TALKS GIVEN IN SCHOOLS:
| 1) | No risky Sex | |
| 2) | Avoid alcohol and drugs (they impair judgement and may lead to risky sex) | |
| 3) | Dont cheat yourself or others (corruption is an addictive and vicious habit) | |
| 4) | Help and educate others | |
| 5) | Work hard to make India proud |
The following is a brief description of the audience and an outline of the lectures that I gave. I have also briefly listed my perception of the response and the contact person. Hopefully, institutions that showed interest are approached by other activists for follow up.
| AUG. 27: | TIME: | 9.00 am - 10:00pm |
| PLACE: | Kundan Vidya Mandir, Ludhiana | |
| HOSTS: | Ms. I. Kumar (Principal) MS. Sonia Shroff (computer teacher) | |
| AGENDA: | To co-ordinate and organize the First North India Multimedia Presentations Contest on societal issues | |
| FUTURE: | Develop this program further | |
| AUG. 28: | TIME: | 9.00 am - 5:00pm |
| PLACE: | Kundan Vidya Mandir, Ludhiana | |
| HOSTS: | Ms. I. Kumar (Principal) MS. Sonia Shroff (computer teacher) | |
| AGENDA: | THE FIRST NORTH INDIA MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATIONS CONTEST ON SOCIETAL ISSUES. 18 teams from 10 schools from Chandigarh, Delhi, Jaipur, and Ludhiana participated | |
| FUTURE: | Develop this program further | |
| AUG. 29: | TIME: | MORNING 8.30 - 9:30 |
| PLACE: | Saraswati Modern School, Ludhiana | |
| AUDIENCE: | 60 boys and girls of 7 and 8 class | |
| HOST: | Mrs Kamala Jain (Principal) | |
| TALK: | What is good government and why we need a government | |
| AUG. 29: | TIME: | 4.00 am - 7:00pm |
| PLACE: | Mahuli Industrial Association, Chandigarh | |
| TALK TITLE: | ALCOHOL AND DRUG ADDICTION | |
| FACILITATOR: | C.I.I., Inderpreet | |
| HOST: | Mahuli Industrial Association | |
| GOAL: | Awareness on alcohol and drug addiction. Cost to person, family, and society | |
| IMPACT: | Partial realization that addictions are growing and destructive for individual and industry. | |
| FUTURE: | Creation of peer groups to spread the message | |
| AUG. 30: | TIME: | 8.00 am - 11.00 am |
| PLACE: | CII Conference room, Chandigarh | |
| AUDIENCE: | 150 boys and girls from 4 schools | |
| AGENDA: | 3 DAY COURSE ON HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT | |
| HOST: | C.I.I. Northern India, Ms. Madhu Pillai, Ms Inderpreet | |
| TOPIC: | LECTURE 1: Female and male reproductive systems and health. Sexuality | |
| IMPACT: | Very good response in terms of questions asked | |
| FUTURE: | Teachers to develop this program in their school. | |
| AUG. 30: | TIME: | MORNING 11.00 - 3:00 |
| PLACE: | Vivek High School, Chandigarh | |
| DEVELOPERS: | boys and girls from 5-11 class and their teachers | |
| AUDIENCE: | Distinguished citizens of Chandigarh | |
| HOST: | Mrs. P.K.Singh (Principal) Mrs. Daman Duggal (Vice Principal) Ms. Manjeet | |
| GOAL: | Awareness on Addictions: a multimedia presentation on ADDICTIONS: alcohol, smoking, drugs | |
| IMPACT: | Very strong endorsement from students, teachers, staff and principal. | |
| FUTURE: | To continue similar programs next year | |
| AUG. 30: | TIME: | 3.00 pm - 5.00 pm |
| PLACE: | CII Conference room, Chandigarh | |
| AUDIENCE: | 30 girls from SMS college | |
| AGENDA: | 3 DAY COURSE ON HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT | |
| HOST: | C.I.I. Northern India, Ms. Madhu Pillai, Ms Inderpreet | |
| TOPIC: | LECTURE 1: Female and male reproductive systems and health. Sexuality and methods of contraception | |
| IMPACT: | Very good response in terms of questions asked | |
| FUTURE: | Teachers to develop this program in college. Would prefer to run this program in their colleges rather than at CII | |
| AUG. 30: | TIME: | EVENING 5:30 - 7:00 |
| PLACE: | Slum in Maulijagran, Chandigarh | |
| AUDIENCE: | 40 Slum kids and their mothers | |
| HOST: | Mrs. Reetika Khanna, Director Project Pustak | |
| GOAL: | The dangers of alcohol drug addiction | |
| IMPACT: | The mothers were very concerned about the addictions in their husbands and wanted to know how to help cure them. They wanted access to more food and clothes and shelter. On average they had 5 children per family. The children are somewhat supervised but many learn to survive by becoming street wise. | |
| FUTURE: | To continue to visit these slums and co-operate with Pustak | |
| AUG. 31: | TIME: | 8.00 am - 11.00 am |
| PLACE: | CII Conference room, Chandigarh | |
| AUDIENCE: | 150 boys and girls from 4 schools | |
| AGENDA: | 3 DAY COURSE ON HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT | |
| HOST: | C.I.I. Northern India, Ms. Madhu Pillai, Ms Inderpreet | |
| TOPIC: | LECTURE 2: The effect of drugs on the brain | |
| IMPACT: | Very good response in terms of questions asked | |
| FUTURE: | Teachers to incorporate this program in their school. | |
| AUG. 31: | TIME: | MORNING/AFTERNOON 11.00 - 3:00 |
| PLACE: | Vivek High School, Chandigarh | |
| DEVELOPERS: | boys and girls from 5-11 class and their teachers | |
| AUDIENCE: | Students from 20 other schools in Chandigarh | |
| HOST: | Mrs. P.K.Singh (Principal) Mrs. Daman Duggal (Vice Principal) Ms. Manjeet | |
| GOAL: | Awareness on Addictions: a multimedia presentation on ADDICTIONS: alcohol, smoking, drugs | |
| IMPACT: | Very strong endorsement from students, teachers, staff and principal. | |
| FUTURE: | Other schools to develop similar programs next year | |
| AUG. 31: | TIME: | EVENING 5:30 - 7:00 |
| PLACE: | Slum near Punjab University, Chandigarh | |
| AUDIENCE: | 50 Slum students | |
| HOST: | Mrs. Reetika Khanna, Director Project Pustak | |
| GOAL: | The dangers of alcohol drug addiction | |
| IMPACT: | This slum is very heavily affected by alcohol and drug addiction. Most parents are intoxicated for significant part of the day and on average have 8-10 children per family. The children are not supervised and learn to survive by becoming street wise. | |
| FUTURE: | To continue to visit these slums and co-operate with Pustak | |
| SEPT. 1: | TIME: | 8.00 am - 11.00 am |
| PLACE: | CII Conference room, Chandigarh | |
| AUDIENCE: | 150 boys and girls from 4 schools | |
| AGENDA: | 3 DAY COURSE ON HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT | |
| HOST: | CII Northern India, Ms. Madhu Pillai, Ms Inderpreet | |
| HOST: | C.I.I. Northern India, Ms. Madhu Pillai, Ms Inderpreet | |
| IMPACT: | Very good response in terms of questions asked | |
| FUTURE: | Teachers to incorporate this program in their school. | |
| SEPT. 1: | TIME: | Afternoon 12.00 - 5:00 |
| PLACE: | House of Mr. N. S. Kalsi, Chandigarh | |
| HOST: | Mr. and Mrs. N. S. Kalsi | |
| GOAL: | To develop a Punjab wide awareness on societal concerns through the use of computers and multimedia | |
| IMPACT: | Very strong endorsement from students, teachers, staff and principal. | |
| FUTURE: | Other schools to develop similar programs next year | |
| SEPT. 1: | TIME: | Evening 5.00 - 7:00 pm |
| PLACE: | Vivek High School, Chandigarh | |
| DEVELOPERS: | boys and girls from 5-11 class and their teachers | |
| AUDIENCE: | Parents of Vivek High School students | |
| HOST: | Mrs. P.K.Singh (Principal) Mrs. Daman Duggal (Vice Principal) Ms. Manjeet | |
| GOAL: | Awareness on Addictions: a multimedia presentation on ADDICTIONS: alcohol, smoking, drugs | |
| IMPACT: | Very strong endorsement from students, teachers, staff and principal. | |
| FUTURE: | Other schools to develop similar programs next year | |
| SEPT. 3: | TIME: | MORNING 9.00 am - 10:00 am |
| PLACE: | Pathology Depatment, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital | |
| HOST: | Dr. Vaneeta Malhotra (Head, Pathology) | |
| AGENDA: | Understanding the incidence and prevalence of HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and C in blood supply and patients | |
| SEPT. 3: | TIME: | MORNING 11.00 am - 2:00 pm |
| PLACE: | Hero DMC Heart Institute | |
| HOST: | Dr. Gurpreet Wander (Head, Cardiology) and Dr. Bisam | |
| AGENDA: | Observed angiograph and angioplasty in order to develop a health and awareness program | |
| SEPT. 4: | TIME: | EVENING 2.30 pm - 4.00 pm |
| PLACE: | Hero DMC Heart Institute | |
| HOST: | Dr. Gurpreet Wander (Head, Cardiology) | |
| TALK TITLE: | HIV CRISIS IN INDIA AND IMPACT ON HOSPITALS | |
| AUDIENCE: | 50 nurses of the heart institute | |
| SEPT. 4: | TIME: | Evening 7.00 - 8:00 pm |
| PLACE: | Gupta Medical Lab, Ludhiana | |
| HOST: | Dr. Rajeev Gupta | |
| GOAL: | Understanding the risk and prevalence of drugs in Ludhiana and surrounding areas. | |
| SEPT. 5: | TIME: | 3.00 - 10:00 pm |
| PLACE: | Arpana Trust and Hospital , Madhuban, on GT Road near Karnal | |
| HOSTS: | Drs. Ela Anand, Aruna, Mark, Anne | |
| GOAL: | To develop web page and proposals for the Arpana Trust to enhance broad based rural development programs. | |
| FUTURE: | Continue to work with them and learn about their village outreach work. | |
| SEPT. 6: | TIME: | MORNING 10.00 - 11:00 |
| PLACE: | St. Stepehen's College, Delhi University | |
| AUDIENCE: | 60 boys and girls of B.Sc. Physics Honors | |
| TALK TITLE: | TIMING THE ORIGIN OF THE MODERN HIV PANDEMIC | |
| HOST: | DR. S. C. BHARGAVA | |
| GOAL: | Review of the phylogenetic analyses of the HIV leading to the estimate of the time of origin. Awareness on HIV/AIDS, modes of transmission and Societal risk factors in the spread of HIV. Outline of my talk | |
| IMPACT: | Very strong endorsement from students | |
| FUTURE: | Not clear. | |
| SEPT. 6: | TIME: | MORNING 11.00 - 1:00 |
| PLACE: | Physics Department, Delhi University | |
| HOST: | Profs. S. R. Choudhry, Kamal Dutta, Vijay Verma, Shobajit Mahajan | |
| GOAL: | Discussions on my research in Lattice QCD and on HIV/AIDS. Understanding the status of University education in India. | |
| FUTURE: | Possible collaboration | |
| SEPT. 6: | TIME: | AFTERNOON 3.00 - 6:00 pm |
| PLACE: | Modern School, New Delhi | |
| HOST: | Ms. Lata Vaidyanathan (principal) and Goutam Sarkar (head computer science) | |
| GOAL: | To develop a program on societal awareness using multimedia presentations in Modern School | |
| Sept. 8: | TIME: | MORNING 9.00 - 11.00 |
| HOST: | FXB India , Rakhi Nair | |
| GOAL: | Visited FXB headquarters in Sumerpur and Bhagawat Hospital. Discussed strategy for enhancing HIV intervention with them. | |
| SEPT. 10: | TIME: | MORNING 8:30 - 10:30 |
| PLACE: | Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan Senior Secondary School, Udaipur | |
| AUDIENCE: | 250 boys and girls of 9 and 11 class, teachers | |
| TALK TITLE: | HIV CRISIS IN INDIA | |
| FACILITATOR: | Dr. Hriday Kant Dewan, Director and Mr. Mirza | |
| HOST: | Mr. Rakesh Sexana, Principal | |
| GOAL: | Awareness on HIV/AIDS, modes of transmission and Societal risk factors in the spread of HIV. Outline of my talk | |
| IMPACT: | Very strong endorsement from students, teachers, staff and principal. | |
| FUTURE: | Follow up during next visit. | |
| SEPT. 10: | TIME: | MORNING 11:00 - 1:00 |
| PLACE: | The Study High School, Udaipur | |
| AUDIENCE: | 100 boys and girls of 9 and 11 class, teachers | |
| TALK TITLE: | HIV CRISIS IN INDIA | |
| FACILITATOR: | Dr. Hriday Kant Dewan, Director and Mr. Mirza | |
| HOST: | Ms. Rama Ram Ji, Principal | |
| GOAL: | Awareness on HIV/AIDS, modes of transmission and Societal risk factors in the spread of HIV. Outline of my talk | |
| IMPACT: | Very strong endorsement from students, teachers, staff and principal. | |
| FUTURE: | Will undertake the multimedia presentation program. | |
| SEPT. 10: | TIME: | AFTERNOON 3:00 - 5:00 |
| PLACE: | Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan Rural Institute, Udaipur | |
| AUDIENCE: | 100 boys and teachers | |
| TALK TITLE: | HIV CRISIS IN INDIA | |
| FACILITATOR: | Dr. Hriday Kant Dewan, Director and Mr. Mirza | |
| HOST: | Prof. G.M. Mehta, Director | |
| GOAL: | Awareness on HIV/AIDS, modes of transmission and Societal risk factors in the spread of HIV. Outline of my talk | |
| IMPACT: | Very strong endorsement from students, teachers, staff and principal. | |
| FUTURE: | Follow up during the next visit. | |
| SEPT. 10: | TIME: | Evening 5.30 - 7:00 pm |
| PLACE: | Clinic of Dr. Vallari Ramaswami, Udaipur | |
| HOST: | Dr. Vallari Ramaswami | |
| GOAL: | Understanding the risk of teenage sexual activity and the prevalence of abortion as a means of birth control amongst teenagers and young adults. | |
| SEPT. 11: | TIME: | MORNING 8:30 - 10:30 |
| PLACE: | Alok High School, Udaipur | |
| AUDIENCE: | 100 boys and girls of 10-12 class, teachers | |
| TALK TITLE: | HIV CRISIS IN INDIA | |
| FACILITATOR: | Dr. Hriday Kant Dewan, Director and Mr. Mirza | |
| HOST: | Shri Narayan Lal Sharma, Principal | |
| GOAL: | Awareness on HIV/AIDS, modes of transmission and Societal risk factors in the spread of HIV. Outline of my talk | |
| IMPACT: | Very strong endorsement from students, teachers, staff and principal. | |
| SEPT. 11: | TIME: | MORNING 11:00 - 1:00 |
| PLACE: | BVB Basic School, Udaipur | |
| AUDIENCE: | 60 boys and 20 girls, teachers | |
| TALK TITLE: | HIV CRISIS IN INDIA | |
| FACILITATOR: | Dr. Hriday Kant Dewan, Director and Mr. Mirza | |
| HOST: | Shri Jai Kishan Rebari, Principal | |
| GOAL: | Awareness on HIV/AIDS, modes of transmission and Societal risk factors in the spread of HIV. Outline of my talk | |
| IMPACT: | Very strong endorsement from students, teachers, staff and principal. | |
| SEPT. 11: | TIME: | AFTERNOON 3:00 - 5:00 |
| PLACE: | Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan Institute for Advanced study in education, Udaipur | |
| AUDIENCE: | 30 student-teachers | |
| TALK TITLE: | HIV CRISIS IN INDIA | |
| FACILITATOR: | Dr. Hriday Kant Dewan, Director and Mr. Mirza | |
| HOST: | Prof. M.P. Sharma, Principal | |
| GOAL: | Awareness on HIV/AIDS, modes of transmission and Societal risk factors in the spread of HIV. Outline of my talk | |
| IMPACT: | Very strong endorsement from students, teachers, staff and principal. | |
| FUTURE: | Follow up during the next visit. | |
| SEPT. 12: | TIME: | MORNING 8:30 - 10:00 |
| PLACE: | The Study High School, Udaipur | |
| AUDIENCE: | 30 boys and girls of 9 and 11 class, teachers | |
| FACILITATOR: | Dr. Hriday Kant Dewan, Director BVB, and Mr. Mirza | |
| HOST: | Ms. Rama Ram Ji, Principal; Ravi Sharma, Computer teacher | |
| GOAL: | Initiation of the multimedia project. Demonstration of presentations made by other schools | |
| IMPACT: | Very strong endorsement from students and teachers | |
| FUTURE: | Will undertake the multimedia presentation program. | |
| SEPT. 12: | TIME: | MORNING 10:30 - 1:00 |
| PLACE: | Seva Mandir, Udaipur | |
| AUDIENCE: | 20 workers of health and rural development programs | |
| HOST: | Ms Neelima Khetan, Director | |
| TALK: | HIV/AIDS as a thermometer of societal problems. | |
| IMPACT: | An understanding of how the various societal problems are related and why HIV spread is caused by poverty, illiteracy, and depravation. | |
| FUTURE: | Future collaboration | |
| SEPT. 12: | TIME: | AFTERNOON 3:00 - 5:00 |
| PLACE: | Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan Polytechnic, Udaipur | |
| AUDIENCE: | 100 boys and teachers | |
| TALK TITLE: | HIV CRISIS IN INDIA | |
| FACILITATOR: | Dr. Hriday Kant Dewan, Director and Mr. Mirza | |
| HOST: | Shri Vasu Dev Deonani, Principal | |
| GOAL: | Awareness on HIV/AIDS, modes of transmission and Societal risk factors in the spread of HIV. Outline of my talk | |
| IMPACT: | Very strong endorsement from students, teachers, staff and principal. | |
| FUTURE: | Follow up during the next visit. | |
| SEPT. 13: | TIME: | MORNING 12.00 - 3:00 pm |
| PLACE: | All India Institute of Medical Sciences | |
| HOST: | Dr. Pradeep Seth, Head Dept of Microbiology | |
| SCIENTISTS: | Mr. Prasad and Dr. Rajiv Gupta | |
| GOAL: | To develop a collaboration on phlogenetic studies of the C clade of HIV prevalent in India. | |
| FUTURE: | Collaborate on research. | |
| SEPT. 13: | TIME: | AFTERNOON 3.00 - 5:00 pm |
| PLACE: | SAHARA, New Delhi | |
| HOST: | Dr. Bitra George and Luke Samson | |
| GOAL: | Sahara is an NGO working on poverty, and on the prevention of HIV and care of those afflicted. We discussed ways of promoting their activities and the status of the spread in India. | |
| FUTURE: | Collaborate on methods of education and intervention | |
| SEPT. 13: | TIME: | Evening 5.00 - 7:00 pm |
| PLACE: | SAARTHAK, New Delhi | |
| HOST: | Dr. Akshay ??? and Ms. Sonal Sood | |
| GOAL: | Understanding the risk and prevalence of drugs in Delhi and surrounding areas. | |
| SEPT. 13: | TIME: | Evening 7.00 - 11:00 pm |
| PLACE: | House of Prof. Arun Kumar, Professor of economics, JNU | |
| HOST: | Arun Kumar and Neerja | |
| GOAL: | Understanding the societal ills, especially Black economy in India. Prof Arun is an expert on this subject. | |
| SEPT. 14: | TIME: | MORNING 8.30 - 9.30 |
| PLACE: | Vasant Valley School, New Delhi | |
| AUDIENCE: | 50 boys and girls of 5th class and teachers | |
| TALK TITLE: | What is good government and why we need it | |
| HOST: | Mr. Arun Kapur, Mrs Narang and Ms. Dimple Sharma | |
| GOAL: | To make them understand what good governance is and why society needs it. | |
| IMPACT: | The questions asked by students showed tremendous curiosity and interest. | |
| SEPT. 14: | TIME: | MORNING 10.00 - 11.15 |
| PLACE: | Vasant Valley School, New Delhi | |
| AUDIENCE: | 80 boys and girls of 11th class and teachers | |
| TALK TITLE: | The effect of drugs on the brain | |
| HOST: | Mr. Arun Kapur, Mrs Narang, Ms. Sonia Bahri | |
| IMPACT: | Half the students showed interest in understanding what drugs do to the brain. | |
| FUTURE: | Students to work with Ms. Sonia Bahri to develop the next round of multimedia presentations. | |
| SEPT. 14: | TIME: | MORNING 11.30 - 12.30 |
| PLACE: | Sri Ram School, Vasant Kunj | |
| HOST: | Mrs Abha Adams, Mr. Raja Ghosh (computer teacher) | |
| GOAL: | To catalyse the development of multimedia presentations on societal issues. | |
| IMPACT: | Will undertake this project in their school | |
| SEPT. 14: | TIME: | Afternoon 1.00 - 6:00 pm |
| PLACE: | All India Institute of Medical Sciences | |
| HOST: | Dr. Pradeep Seth, Head Dept of Microbiology | |
| SCIENTISTS: | Mr. Prasad and Dr. Rajiv Gupta | |
| GOAL: | To develop a collaboration on phlogenetic studies of the C clade of HIV prevalent in India. | |
| FUTURE: | Collaborate on research. |
Mrs. Ms. Indira Kumar, Principal Kundan Vidya Mandir, Ludhiana, for tremendous organization and support. Sonia Shroff and her staff for organizing the first North India multimedia talent competition and developing the second batch of students who participated in this program.
Ms. Madhu Pillai and Inderpreet of Confederation of Indian Industries made the Chandigarh program happen. I am also thankful to Deepali Sharma, Ms. Suman Verma, Principals Mr. D.S. Bedi, P. K. Singh, and Brother D'Abreau for the tremendous hospitality shown by their schools.
Principal P. K. Singh, Vice-principal Ms. Daman Duggal and Ms. Manjeet Johar of Vivek High School for a tremendous three day presentation on Addictions for the Chandigarh community.
Mr. Ratti Sabharwal, Aruna Dayal, Mark, Anne, Ela Anand and the rest of the Arpana members for spending time with me to explain the various programs of the Arpana trust and for their hospitality.
Hriday Kant Dewan and Mr. Mirza of Bhartiya Vidya Mandir and Ms Neelima Khetan of Seva Samaj for organizing the Udaipur program.
FXB, India -- Rakhi Nair for explaining the FXB programs in Sumerpur
Mr Arun Kapur, Director Vasant Valley School, Mrs Narang Principal, Ms. Dimple Sharma, Ms. Sonia Bahri and the tremendous support of all the teachers of Vasant Valley School.
Thanks to T. Bhattacharya and J. DeLapp for always being there with help
Alice Chapman, Neel and Nevin for their constant support
Rajan Gupta