Pratham

Pratham creates awareness and disseminates knowledge regarding menstrual hygiene to adolescent girls of Standards 6 and 7 in villages. This is achieved by training the teachers and supporting them to build awareness on the fundamental role that good menstrual hygiene management plays in helping girls reach their full potential.

Pratham educates middle school teachers by using unique training curriculum with holistic education materials about the biology of menstruation, puberty, hygiene management, breaking taboos and myths around it. The organization’s strategies reconfigure teaching methodologies, break down traditional tactics, and challenge the current routine learning mechanisms in the schools.

Pratham selects teachers and sensitizes them about menstruation and menstrual hygiene, and promotes a supportive learning environment. Pratham also engages teachers to incorporate reproductive health and menstrual hygiene into the school curriculum and provides professional training for teachers. Teachers and school authorities, perhaps in partnership with Pratham, advocate to parents that their daughters attend school during their menses, and are provided with adequate sanitary protection.

Step 1: Identification of female teachers

Pratham identifies two female teachers from the middle school to impart MHM training and capacity building. The teachers are selected based on two categories- class teachers of adolescent girls entering menarche and their interest towards implementing such training programs.

Step 2: Training and capacity building of teachers

The selected teachers are then trained at block level training center by Pratham representatives. The training is held for two days and comprises of topics related to menstrual hygiene, puberty and myths and issues that are associated with them in the society.

Step 3: Teachers work as agents of change

The trained teachers bring together a unique set of multipliers to catalyse progress and to increase knowledge and comfort discussing menstruation with students. Teachers work with the conviction that if menstrual hygiene knowledge is to be mainstreamed, it needs to become a standard part of the education. They organize one hour sessions, twice a week after school hours, to talk to girls in Standards 6 and 7 about menstruation, reproduction, sexual health, growing body, puberty, menstrual hygiene and related topics.

Training and capacity building of teacher’s alone is insufficient. It requires adequate support, enforcement and monitoring to be effective. A policy needs to support implementation.

To monitor the awareness creation activities in middle schools; to increase the efficiency and impact of MHM activities; Pratham follows the following process:

I. Selection and appointment of Volunteers

Volunteers are young enthusiasts having an urge to make a difference in the lives of young girls. They bring in their youthful energy to establish relationship with the selected teachers and help them navigate through menstrual hygiene management in schools. The youthful MHM brigadiers are selected from the respective blocks where Pratham runs its interventions so that it is easier for them to monitor.

II. Training of Volunteers

Each volunteer is given training for a period of 20 days. Content of the training includes the need to address menstrual hygiene, puberty, critical health barriers, menstrual hygiene management, safe products, disposal of sanitary products etc. along with other aspects of maintaining good health and hygiene. After the volunteers are trained, they train the other teachers in schools who further impart education to the adolescent girls in the school.

III. Implementation and monitoring activities conducted by the Volunteers

 The trained volunteers engage themselves in two activities, which are:

• imparting training to teachers about menstrual hygiene management, and
• help and monitor teachers to efficiently educate adolescent girls about menstruation and hygienic practices.

The volunteers initiate this engagement by taking prior appointment from the school principal to conduct trainings for the teachers. The volunteers conduct training with selected teachers on various dynamic aspects centering around menstruation and usage of safe and hygienic products. Once the teachers are trained, they further continue to impart education to the girls in their respective schools. As a token of engagement each adolescent girl is provided with a diary, an interactive CD and a badge and other informative books.

The volunteers are also engaged in conducting monitoring activities such as directing teachers in creating an enabling environment for learning, monitoring the effectiveness of the training, taking girl’s feedback and ensuring the desired impact is created by the teachers in the school.