In its efforts to reach out to the adolescents and address their health issues along with offering additional information, Rural Development Institute (RDI) offers multiple orientation and capacity building programs.
These programs are designed to address multiple stakeholders like adolescents, teachers, members of local governance, and parents. The objective is to offer comprehensive information on adolescence and their issues along with motivating adolescents for safe health and hygiene practices. To reach out to a larger number of adolescents RDI conducts training programs for peer educators, responsive and interested adolescents from the same group who can facilitate the sharing of information in their larger group as well as channelize their concerns to competent point of counselling or clinical care.
During April and May 2018 the well-trained team of RDI conducted a 4-Day Adolescent Health Peer Educator program under the RDI Wipro Health Care Program at Bahadrabad, Haridwar. 210 adolescents including boys and girls were trained in 10 groups from 8 villages of Bahadrabad area. The key components of training were leadership and communication, growth and development, nutrition and diet, reproductive and sexual health, noncommunicable diseases, mental health, violence and gender.
The school authorities and adolescents were well informed about training content, delivery patterns, time and location of training. Program team members from RDI interacted with peer educators through online connectivity. Adolescents were very eager to communicate with senior persons online and clarify their doubts. All school teachers and parents were very supportive of the program providing necessary support and space for the training.
Participants of Peer Educator Training enjoyed the facilitation, group work, ice breaking activities and outdoor games. They pointed out that presentations and facilitation were clear to understand. They also said that trainers were open and friendly. One of the most important sharing of the participants was that it was the first time that they attended such training with so much useful information.
