Dharani Wijayawardhane
22.08.2012
Post 2

                         On 22nd of August,it was sheduled in the time table to hold a health education programme.We were supposed to visit an orphanage which was situated in Delkanda.From the time we got to know about this we were wondering how it would be.

                         We devided ourselves into 4 groups and got prepared to educate the children on 4 different topics.We decided to talk to them on reproductive health as the children's age group which was allocated to us were between 16-18 and all were girls.

                         WE discussed what we are going to do and prepared a leaflet to handover to them at the programme.It was a new and a different experience right from the begining.We had to wear sarees and we were there by 8am.

                         There were about 80 children in the orphanage and between 16-18 there were about 10 girls.We introduced ourselves and described what we are going to do.And also at the begining we gave each of them a piece of paper and a pen asking them to write any question.

                         First we gave a very brief description about the structure of the female reproductive system and what happens in the menstrual cycle.We gave priority to talk about personal hygiene during menstrual period and myths and truths related to that.We had to be cautious when talking to them as they are living in a different place unlike most of other chidren.So before starting to talk to them we got to know about the supplements(sanitary pads/towels) they are given.We emphasized about the importance of bathing and cleaning the perineal area during periods and about the risk of infections due to poor higiene.

                       We explained about taking good nutrition during the menstruation though there are myths saying it's not good to eat certain foods like eggs,meat.Then we collected the  pieces of paper in which they have written their questions.Most of them have asked about the menstrual cycle;irregularity of the periods,variation of the duration,truth regarding myths.For some questions we answered but for some questions we got help from our lecturers as they were very sensitive issues.

                       Then we described about the sexually transmitted diseases andhow they are transmitted.Finally we educated them about abuse,how to be safe and what to do if anyone has to experience such incident.

                       It really was an amazing experience which I have had in my life.