Introductory Notes for Trainers in Health and Hygiene
by These notes are to guide trainers in presenting a course in health and hygiene at village level in developing countries. Subsequent articles will consist of modules related to a number of topics. There will also be participants notes with activities to be completed. The articles are in English and it is suggested that when using them it is ideal to have the participants notes in native language where possible.
Many of the issues discussed in this module are of a personal nature. There is open discussion of body parts and functions. Participants may have some sensitivities concerning the discussion of these issues and trainers need to take this into account when delivering the training. It may be necessary to divide the training group into gender or age specific groups to manage these sensitivities.
Respect for each other and the information that is being presented needs to be discussed prior to the commencement of training. The material should be fun to learn and the trainer will need to control the environment closely to ensure that all participants are comfortable. Ideally classroom rules will be discussed at the beginning of the project with an emphasis on respect, equality, gender equity and non-judgemental interactions in the classroom.
Participants need to be aware of the parts of their bodies, their names and functions. A pre-course activity would be a game to identify these elements as an introduction to the class.
Introductory Game
Participants stand in a circle and are given a ball or a coconut.
Each participant places the coconut on a different part of their body and says their name and the name of the body part at the same time. Eg. Willy has the coconut and puts it on his head, at the same time saying ‘Willy – Head’, Willy passes the coconut on to Sarah who puts the coconut on her arm and says ‘Sarah – arm, Willy – head’, Sarah passes the coconut to Joel who places it on his knee and says ‘Joel – knee, Sarah – arm, Willy – head’…the game goes on with many parts of the body identified – toes, hands, shoulders, chest, tummy, foot, calf, wrist, fingers, elbow, etc. Do not be concerned if the participants say incorrect names for body parts (eg. Stomach and tummy) it is not important that they get the names anatomically correct.
Once the coconut has gone around the group the coconut is thrown to any member of the group at the same time saying the persons name and the body part they have identified. Allow this to go on until everyone has had a turn.
Take the coconut and place it to the side. Tell the class they have done a good job to remember all the body parts. Also tell the class that in the lessons they will be doing we will be talking about various parts of the body including parts within the body known as organs. Emphasise that it is perfectly OK to talk about these organs as they are other parts of the body that we often do not see but that are very important to our health and hygiene. Say that you understand that some people may be embarrassed to talk about some parts of the body and that this is normal. Ask the class to give a commitment to not making people feel uncomfortable when they ask questions by laughing at them or making fun of their questions. Ask that every participant in the class agrees to this rule for the whole of the course because it will make it easier for people to learn and to ask questions about things they don’t understand.
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