In order to spread the awareness among the masses in the remote villages about the effects of malnutrition in the society during the ongoing Posan Maah, CDPO Mahore, Ms Anjum Ganai today organised Cultural Programme, consisting of Song/Dance and talk show with local religious heads and live sanitation demo in Panchayat Sungri in Chasana block of ICDS Project Mahore in District Reasi. The event was attended by Field Functionaries of ICDS, Local Leader, Ex Panches/ Sarpanches, Adolcent Girls and pregnant women/ lactating mothers, accredited social health activists, and school children.A live sanitation demonstration with simultaneous public participation was held at the venue wherein they were shown how to wash the hands properly and its benefits for remaining healthy.Local religious heads of the area were roped in and the talk show was held with them at the venue. The religious heads appealed the public to follow best and healthy living practices and adopt to taking nutritious diet, sanitation and following proper hygiene. They appealed the public to join hands with ICDS in waging war against Malnutrition.
The thematic and fun filled Cultural Programme, with the theme revolving around sensitizing the general public about Health, Hygiene, Nutrition, and Girl Child protection etc, in the remote place attracted local public and the stage thus was effectively used for spreading the awareness about Malnutrition, Health, Hygiene, Sanitation, optimum breast feeding.Dance performance was presented by Anganwadi Children on the occasion, who were colorfully dressed up in Fruits and vegetable costumes. The small Anganwadi children through song and the dance performance depicted the benefits of fruits and vegetables to the audience, which received a great applause by the audience present on the occasion.The Local leader Sh G A Malik, invited on the occasion briefed the public about Malnutrition and its effects on our chidren. He said that Malnutrition makes the child weak mentally and physically, and Malnourished Children thus can not participate in the development of our Country, and thus results in the economic backwardness of the area. We need to adopt the healthy behavioral practices to overcome this social issue and sought public support for this.The Anganwadi workers and helpers presented a song item on overall Health and Nutrition on the occasion. The innovative idea of reaching out to the public living in far flung villages, having scattered human establishments all over the hills through the medium of performing art, in spreading the awareness about Nutrition, Health, Hygiene, Sanitation, optimum breast feeding has facilitated to make deep inroads among the villagers living in ICDS project Mahore about the best health, Nutrition and Hygiene and sanitation practices to be followed by them.
The sustained public outreach has thus transformed the Anganwadi Centres into Community Service Centres at a micro level. The people are coming forward and participating actively in our community based events, and are acting as an agent of change in the area and ambassadors of Poshan Abhiyaan, Said Ms Ganai.Ms Ganai, while speaking on the occasion said that adoption of behavior change and adopting healthy eating habits especially optimal breast feeding, has changed the health profile of the area, and thus has been a turnaround strategy for the ICDS project Mahore.She further said the field staff despite being females and serving in the far flung and remote areas, where there is no road connectivity and where they have to travel through thick forest to reach the Anganwadi Centres, is appreciable, it is them who ultimately have to do the convergence of the all the schemes at the micro level. The daunting task given to the field staff was to bring in Behavioral Change at the community level. The Anganwadi Workers and Supervisors took the challenge as mission and thus laid thrust on organising of Community Based Events regularly across all the Anganwadi Centres in a structured way to promote behaviour change among the communities and to improve maternal and child nutrition, said Ms Ganai.She appealed the general public to come forward and join the hands with ICDS in waging a war against Malnutrition so as to lead the state in building Healthy India.