SAFE FOOD FOR HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

The importance of food hygiene for community development The quality of our life is very much determined by the quality of the food that we eat. Food is paramount for human health and well-being as it’s mentioned in the Universal declaration of human rights in the article 25, together with clothing, housing and health care. Notwithstanding the objectives and rhetorical statements periodically put forth by  governments and international organizations, the current trends related to hunger and malnutrition are dire, with an estimated 821 million undernourished people in 2017 (compared to 784 million in 2015) one third of which live in South Asia. Children are  especially vulnerable to malnutrition as this hampers their full development and their ability to learn and lead a healthy and fulfilling life. 

Currently an estimated 149 million children are stunted worldwide with India having one of the world’s highest children under nutrition rates.  According to the UN 4 out of 10 children in India are not meeting their full human potential because of chronic under nutrition or stunting, leading to diminished learning capacities, poor school performance and increased risks of chronic diseases. As it’s shown by  researches promoted by the WHO, unsafe food creates a vicious circle of disease and malnutrition particularly among the most vulnerable individuals such as children. 

For these reasons the Indian Government decided to launch the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education in 1995, also known as Mid-Day Meal Scheme its stated goals being: enhancing enrollment, retention and attendance and simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children. Unfortunately some surveys and researches showed the gap between the stated goals of the programme and its actual implementation, the shortcomings being: lack of proper infrastructure for the processing, handling and provision of food; the poor nutritional value of the food provided; the lack of implementation in certain areas at all; lack of funds for the implementation of the programme and, as a result, the failure to meet the predetermined goals. Food hygiene is therefore a paramount issue to be addressed in order to prevent food borne diseases and malnutrition, and this has to be tackled both on the educational side (providing knowledge about the measures to take in order to have safe food) and the physical side (providing access to the necessary tools and infrastructure necessary to have safe food). The WHO defines food hygiene as the conditions and measures necessary to ensure the safety of food from production to consumption and identified five key areas related to the implementation of 

The measures necessary to guarantee food hygiene. These issues needs to be addressed  mainly in the rural areas where there’s a lack of awareness and infrastructure about the measures to take in order to prevent food borne diseases and where communities are most vulnerable to problems such as lack of access to services. FAO recognizes that schools are an ideal setting to support nutrition and development as children are at an age where food and health habits are being formed, and they can also influence families and be a channel for wider community participation, therefore creating benefits that extend beyond the classroom to households and communities. Given the shortcomings proved by the governmental program about school meals, the role of NGOs such as HEEALS are fundamental in order to tackle the aforementioned issues, providing educational and physical tools, and promoting development and health through a direct dialogue with the communities themselves. Only through a direct dialogue the empowerment of such communities can be obtained, by listening to the voices of the people on a grassroots level and giving them the freedom to choose. As shown by Amartya Sen freedom is both a mean and an end to development and is necessary to avoid the vicious circle of poverty.

-        - Andrea

Source 

www.un.org › universal-declaration-human-rights 1 https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/ 2 ibid. 3 https://in.one.un.org/un-priority-areas-in-india/nutrition-and-food-security/ 4 https://www.who.int/health-topics/food-safety/ 5https://mhrd.gov.in/mid-day-meal 6https://scroll.in/latest/935227/;https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2019/09/07/UP-govt-was-aware-7ofsevere-shortcomings-of-mid-day-meal-scheme.html;https://indianexpress.com/article/india/ over-900-children-reported-ill-in-last-three-years-after-consuming-mid-day-meals-hrd-ministry- 5828876/;https://indianexpress.com/article/india/priyanka-gandhi-uttar-pradesh-governmentschool-mid-day-meal-6161112/;https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/health/mid-day-mealhas-failed-to-attract-children-to-government-schools-says-cag-audit-52267

https://www.who.int/foodsafety/areas_work/food-hygiene/5keys/en/ 8http://www.fao.org/school-food/overview/en/ 9A. Sen, “Development as freedom”, 1999 10

IMPORTANCE OF VOLUNTEERING

“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” - Elizabeth Andrew

Volunteering is one of the most effective ways to gain meaningful, hands-on experience in the social work field.Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?” Last month, I started working as an online volunteer for HEEALS.I have realized that it has enormous benefits. Volunteering helps bring a difference as it feels good to help other people and enact changeand give back to the community. Volunteering helps us make friends, learn new skills, advance our career, and even feel happier and healthier.The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others is the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.

Benefits of volunteering:

·         Volunteering connects you to others and helps to gain new insights.

·         Volunteering is good for your mind and body

·         Volunteering can advance your career

·         Volunteering brings a sense of accomplishment to your life

There are wonderfulVolunteering opportunities available at HEEALShttp://heeals.org/volunteer-zone-

Internship:

Experience as an intern is an incredible way to discover India and to work for an NGO. As an intern you will be treated as an employee so it could be the way for you to have a job experience abroad and to practice the skills you’ve learnt in your studies.

http://heeals.org/entries/general/for-internship-engagement-program-

Online Volunteering:

As an online volunteer with us, you could do a variety of things in the comfort of your home or office.

http://heeals.org/entries/general/for-online-volunteering-

Volunteers:

HEEALS is a growing organization which offers volunteers the unique ability & mechanism to have a truly significant role in organizational and program development.

During a volunteer program, you become deeply involved with local community, immersed in a new culture and a different way of life.

http://heeals.org/entries/general/for-volunteers

Gap Year:

During your Gap year volunteering with HEEALS allows you to do something a bit more constructive with your time. This will hone your skills, help you learn a language, immerse in another culture, build long lasting bonds, and provide vital services to a local community. Your gap year is a chance, where you can utilize your existing skills in excellent practice.

http://heeals.org/entries/general/for-gap-year

I would like to end this with the words of Mahatma Gandhi - “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

Written by – Priyanka Dalmia

Let's Talk About Menstrual Hygiene Taboos !

Menstrual Hygiene Is A Basic Fundamental Right Of Girls . They must access to regular supply of sanitary  pads . Men must be included in MH Talk To Spread Its Awareness and Importance . Talking about this topics could help girls not to be scared.

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The importance of handwashing with soap in schools

Handwashing, also known as hand hygiene, is the act of cleaning hands for the purpose of
removing soil, dirt, and microorganisms. Although it can prevent infection and save lives, good hand
hygiene is not widespread in domestic, school and healthcare settings. Only 19% of people across the
world wash their hands with soap after defecating. 35% of healthcare facilities have no water and
soap for handwashing, and only 21% of schools in developing countries have handwashing facilities.
Furthermore, compliance with handwashing behaviours are worse in many low-income settings.
UNICEF data show that nearly 900 million children have either limited or no handwashing service
at their school. 47% of schools worldwide do not have handwashing facilities with soap and water. ½
of schools in the least developed countries have no hygiene service at all.
Why is handwashing with soap important? few data…
Water alone does not dislodge dirt, grease, and the natural oils on hands, but soap helps break down
germ-carrying oils. Soap also facilitates rubbing and friction which can remove germs from the
hands, and so that germs can be rinsed away with water. Using soap also adds to the time spent
washing and ensures a more effective wash. With proper use, all soaps are equally effective at
removing germs that cause disease. Moreover:
• Washing hands with soap at critical times (after using the toilet, before eating and preparing food)
can reduce diarrhoea rates by more than 40%. Handwashing with soap is one of the most costeffective
interventions to prevent diarrhoea-related deaths and disease.
• Handwashing with soap can reduce the incidence of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) by more
than 20%.
• Up to 50% of cases of malnutrition are caused by inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene.
• Handwashing promotion in schools can play a role in reducing the number of days children miss
school. Studies reveal that promotion and distribution of soap in primary schools result in more
than 50% fewer days of absence among students compared to schools without such an
intervention.
• Health costs due to hygiene-related diseases can be reduced by good hygiene habits such as
handwashing with soap.
How can we change people’s hand washing behaviors?
Access to clean water and soap alone will not deliver the health and development benefits of
handwashing. It is true behavior change and the sustained and consistent practice of the new
behavior that ensures the positive results. Changing people’s behavior is difficult and complex, but
possible with the right approach and in the right context. Behavior change is not a rocket science, nor
a silver bullet; it is a social science and it requires a multi-disciplinary approach in order to design,
implement and evaluate programs more effectively. A collective effort from governments, donor
agencies, I/NGOs, local capacity based organizations (CBO), private sector, academia and civil
society is urgently needed in the sector to implement and evaluate sustainable handwashing
campaigns at scale.
In India, for example, the Mid-Day Meal which is a government flagship program operational in all
schools across the country serves nearly 110 million children in 1.3 million primary and upper
primary schools . It provides an excellent opportunity to influence hygiene practices of children
particularly handwashing with soap before meals. Learning this simple, but lifesaving habit in school,
also means that children can inculcate this among other household members too. As powerful agents
of behavioral change, children can take lessons they have learned at school back home to teach their
parents, siblings and elders on good hygiene behaviors such as handwashing with soap. It is a path
breaking innovation that can potentially improves the education and health outcomes of 110 million
children who have mid-day meal daily, across the country. Group Handwashing ensured that all
children wash hands in ‘groups’, stand facing each other, exchanges positive messages, make ‘eye to
eye’ contact and enjoy the process. Making this happen on an every-day basis before Mid-Day Meal
in every school of the country, leads to a new ‘social norm’ around handwashing before meals.
Global Handwashing Day and the international commitment:
Global Handwashing Day (October 15th) was established in 2008 as a platform to advocate for
greater attention to hand hygiene. This effort, combined with many other efforts to bring attention to
the need for improved water supply, sanitation, and hygiene, have resulted in the inclusion of
handwashing as an indicator within the Sustainable Development Goals (specifically, 6.2.1). With
this, more countries than ever before have begun to include handwashing with soap as an indicator in
their routine data collection.
Target 6.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls on the global community to achieve
access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all by 2030. Despite this, hygiene still gets
low levels of political attention in low and middle-income countries. One explanation for this is that
historically, the WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) sector focused on building taps and toilets,
whilst the healthcare sector focused on treating patients and behaviour change has always been seen
as a difficult undertaking. Target 6.2 indicators for handwashing include the ‘proportion of
populations with handwashing facilities with soap and water at home’. However, this indicator is just
a proxy measurement, and doesn’t tell us whether people are actually practicing handwashing. There
is therefore a need for each country to set up a behavioural outcomes-related indicator in addition to
target 6.2. Though there is growing recognition of the importance of behaviour change it is still
highly neglected. The biggest challenge in the WASH sector right now is how to achieve sustained
hygiene behaviour change at scale, and attain Global Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation for all).
Our commitment:
HEEALS (Health, Education, Environment And Livelihood Society) is one of those organizations
directly involved in implementing hand washing with soap in children’s daily routine. It is working on
WASH (water, sanitation and Hygiene) projects in seven states: Delhi (National Capital Region),
Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal, Uttranchal, Leh and Uttar Pradesh. HEEALS works in slum
schools, schools in unauthorised colonies, orphanages and refugee camps. Through spreading
education on sanitation and personal hygiene and delivering basic hand washing material, HEEALS
is working to increase the attendance rates of pupils in schools, reduce the number of diseases and
deaths and improve the health of people across Indian society.

-Manuel
WASH Intern


References:
- Curtis V, Kanki B, Cousens S, Sanou A, Diallo I, Mertens T. Dirt and diarrhoea: Formative research in hygiene
promotion programme. Oxford University Press 1997; (12(2)): 122-31.
- Freeman M, Stocks M, Cumming O, Jeandron A, Higgins J, Wolf J, et al. Hygiene and health: systematic review of
handwashing practices worldwide and update of health effects. Tropical Medicine and International Health. 2014; 19(9):
906-16.
- WHO, UNICEF. Water, sanitation and hygiene in health care facilities: Status in low- and middle-income countries and
way forward; 2015.
Links:
https://globalhandwashing.org/handwashing-with-soap-why-should-we-care/
https://washdata.org/reports
http://unicef.in/story/129/fast-facts-and-figures-about-handwashing
https://globalhandwashing.org/about-handwashing/faqs/

THE IMPORTANCE OF NGOs

Considering what we said in the previous articles, it results clear that for trying to defeat totally the child marriage phenomenon is necessary a joined action among international organizations, like for example United Nations or UNICEF, national governments and finally grassroots local organization, such as the NGO.

Firstly, it is better clarify what exctaly is an NGO.

Non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, were first called such in Article 71 in the Charter of the newly formed United Nations in 1945.

There is not a fixed or formal definition for them, but  they are easily defined as nonprofit entities independent of governmental influence. 

For getting the point, it is useful to report the definition of NGO, provided by the World Bank: “"The diversity of NGOs strains any simple definition. They include many groups and institutions that are entirely or largely independent of government and that have primarily humanitarian or cooperative rather than commercial objectives. They are private agencies in industrial countries that support international development; indeginous groups organized regionally or nationally; and member-groups in villages. NGOs include charitable and religious associations that mobilize private funds for development, distribute food and family planning services and promote community organization. They also include independent cooperatives, community associations, water-user societies, women's groups and pastoral associations. Citizen Groups that raise awareness and influence policy are also NGOs".

Then, it is possibile to briefly sum up that NGO activities include, but are not limited to, environmental, social, advocacy and human rights work. They can work to promote social or political changes on a broad scale or very locally. As a matter of fact, NGOs play a critical role in developing society, improving communities, and promoting citizen participation.

Secondly, we are going to examine the currently situation of NGOs in India.

Since 1947 (year of the Indipendence), India has become an independent democratic Country and has started her own growth itinerary at political, economic and social level. As a developing country, nowadays India is facing with a wide amount of challenges. Moreover, India has made rapid progress in the socio-economic sphere. In fact, millions of citizens have been brought out of poverty, life expectancy has shot up, literacy rate has almost tripled and people have better access to healthcare services. However, as much millions are still bereft of a decent life: even today, they must struggle to get basics such as health, shelter, education and nutritious food. So, the benefits of India’s economic progress have not been uniform in nature and there is rampant economic inequality.

Having said that, the NGOs’importance is blatant. Their main aim is to fill up the gaps left by the government by improving the lives of the most marginalized communities, undertaking a variety of activities and projects.

According to a survey of Save the Children, the following are the common causes of NGOs operating in India: child rights; poverty; social injustice; environment conservation; human rights; women empowerment; care of elderly people; wildlife conservation; animal rights; sanitation and hygiene; humanitarian relief, health and nutrition; literacy and education; refugee crisis and last but not least disease control. Furthermore, NGOs also promote massive campaigning activities to generate awareness on these issues.

This is where HEEALS comes into the picture.

HEEALS is a grassroots NGO based in Gurgaon, with the mandate of empowering local and rural communities to become sustainable in Health, Education, Environment and Livelihood Society sectors.

Younger and women are the major victims of social-economic issues, suffering health problems, economic disparity, sexual violence, harassment and much more. HEEALS is working in order to create spread awareness about health ,education environment ,sanitation, menstrual hygiene, toilets and unsafe drinking water, and its effect on children & female education and health. In particular, it targets those living in rural areas, urban slums, refugee camps and orphanages and it also wants to ensure that communities are equipped to tackle these issues, by providing toilets in the areas most at risk, and by providing things such as water purification tablets, water tanks, soap and sanitary towels for young girls.

But how HEEALS do that? Concretely through research & development engaging workshops, resources distribution and content creation.

Among all these projects, there is also the #stopchidmarriage campaign.

HEEALS is trying to defeat that practice mostly in two ways:

1.With a direct action in the schools & community, which involve workshops , short lessons and interactive games and activities, with the aim of live a stand in children’s minds.

2. With an indirect action through social media and events for sensitizing not only the public opinion in general but also parents.

HEEALS, for example,uses to help some rural village’s school in Uttar Pradesh.

In one of them, almost three years ago the most remarkable case of child marriage, that has involved a female student of around 13 years old, took place. She has been forced to get marriage by her own family. When HEEALS discover this fact, it started first to talk with the girl’s family and then, since there were not signals of change, it called also the designed authority, in order to stop the illegal marriage. Although those efforts, the student had to married her “husband” and she left her home-village and school. On the other hand, HEEALS has kept to fight for her and after several actions, it obtained that the girls returned back to her home for going to school until she will turn 18 years old.

To end up the article, I just present a short consideration.

Under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act of 2005, on March 2007 was set up the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights with the purpose to ensure that all laws, policies, programme, and administrative mechanisms are always in consonance with the Child Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In spite of this, in 2015 the Indian Government did not sign the resolution of UN against child marriage.

That for pointing up the huge incongruity that are afflicting the Indian public system today. Furthermore, people tend to do not have trust in institutions and in police. It is also well-know that some facts and events are regular obscure to public opinion.

In this context, defeating a problem such child marriage is truly complicated. Definitely joint action is a paramount, as well as NGOs, who prove bravery and a strong will every single day

-Martina 
WASH & MH coordinator 

HAND WASH IN SCHOOLS

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WASH Workshop Video

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WASH Importance Workshop In Schools

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