Adolescent Reproductive Sexual Health (ARSH) Program
Adolescence can be a time of turmoil and turbulence, of stress and storm. Rebellion against authority and against convention is to be expected and tolerated for the sake of learning and growth.
One of the most crucial phase of the life of a person, adolescence is the threshold of adulthood. A remarkable phase, where he/she stands between childhood and youth and is the most eventful for mental, emotional, and as well as physiological well-being. This is also the period of psychological transition from a child who lives in the protective shelter of the family to an adolescent who is coming to grip with the realities of society. The adolescence is especially vulnerable, being often deprived of both adequate parental care and learning opportunities and being more vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies, during this period. With limited options, life becomes difficult when they are caught up in a cycle of early marriage, pregnancy and parenthood with little control over their lives.
Adolescent Reproductive Sexual Health (ARSH) is a special program implemented by KAGAS in Udham Singh Nagar of Uttarakhand namely Rudrapur and Khatima to bring in health, nutrition and overall development of adolescent child as well as creating create an enabling environment for them to take initiatives for fulfilling their potential.
Objective of the Project
- Enhance general health, hygiene and nutrition status of adolescence in the project blocks
- Promote reproductive and sexual health with a special focused on RTI/STDs and HIV/AIDS among adolescence
- Empower adolescence through life skills, vocational skills and livelihood options
- Establish inter sectoral collaboration and linkages as well as promote community participation in enabling adolescence health and development
Activities Undertaken
A number of activities were planned and carried out as mentioned below during the implementation of the project.
- Promotion of groups of adolescence (Peer Educator Groups) and community sensitization
- Training of adolescence focusing sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, general health and nutrition, vocational skill, legal rights, life skill, and communication etc.
- Regular meeting of adolescence at village and cluster level and its monitoring for hand holding
- Capacity binding of staff on project indicators and monitoring
Program Outcomes
- Increase in health condition of the Adolescence.
- After training many adolescence choose their career options and became independent.
- Increased in the health of the adolescence
- Formation of 800 Peer Educator Groups of Adolescence and trained on various health aspects.
- Formation of 60 Adolescence facilitation center.
- Vocational trainings like computer skills, Beautician and Fashion designing.
- Counselling done for 200 adolescence which helped them to choose their future career.
