Empowering Indigenous Youth for a Healthy Future

The end of October marked the end of the 2017 school year and the end of our pilot In-School Health Training Campaign. Rising Minds staff worked tirelessly over 2017 to develop the curriculum and to deliver weekly health trainings at our partner preschool, CEIBI, to over 60 Maya indigenous youth! Our campaign consisted of three units: disease prevention, nutrition, and mental health.

We kicked on the campaign with our disease prevention unit. The kids first learned about the three types of microbes: virus, bacteria, and fungus. Using bigger than life drawings of these “scary monsters,” we taught the preschoolers where they can find these microbes and how they can be transmitted. However, we did not forget about beneficial fungi, like yeast and “flor de vinagre.” We learned about our immune system and how it’s functions and its characteristics. From there the students of CEIBI learned about the importance of healthy personal hygiene habits like washing our hands, brushing our teeth, bathing, and sneezing into our elbows to help prevent the spread of germs. Activities such as making our own hand sanitizer and natural toothpaste were well received among kids, teachers, and parents during this unit.

We segued from from our disease prevention unit to our unit on nutrition. During these trainings the kids learned about eating healthy, the evils of junk food (see previous report on the “Story of Mardoqueo”), vitamins, proteins and nutrients. Our classroom trainings were complimented by trainings in CEIBI’s in-school garden and the Rising Minds’ Educational Garden. During our expeditions to the gardens the students got to get their hands dirty planting nutritionally rich seeds, such as kale, lettuce, beets, and chard. We finished the school year with our unit on mental health. These trainings dealt with themes such as self-esteem, self acceptance, and emotions.

With our first series of health trainings coming to an end, we’ve begun to work on the curriculum development for next year. Classes will start in mid-January and we can’t wait to be back at CEIBI on a weekly basis. We also are planning our monthly Family Wide Health Training Initiative to involve the parents of our students. Our In-School Health Training Campaign has been approved by the Ministry of Education and we could not be more thrilled to continue our work in 2018!

With the disease prevention unit of our In-School Health Training Campaign to Empower Maya Indigenous Youth for a Healthy Future coming to an end at the beginning of August, Hilda, our community health educator has begun to deliver trainings on nutrition. The first training related to nutrition was about the “evils” of junk food. The objectives of the training were to disseminate information on the “evils of junk food,” to raise awareness  about the damages junk food can cause, and to inform the preschoolers of the consequences the consumption of “comida chatarra” has on their bodies. After assembling puzzles and discussing how junk food makes our teeth and bodies sad, all the kiddos vowed to eat more fruits and vegetables and to make healthier decisions when buying their daily snack.

The following week, when we were at our partner preschool’s in-school garden, one of our kids, Mardoqueo, 4 years old, was eating a bag of chips for his snack. Immediately, a few of his friends rushed to his side to ask why he was eating “comida chatarra,” instead of the fruit salad that was provided by the school. His peers began to recall what we discussed in our training and told him that his energy levels would be low, his body would not be as strong, and that he is at a higher risk of getting a cavity when eating junk food.  His response was that “the bad angel told me to eat it.” His classmates quickly told him that he has to do his best to resist the voice of the “bad angel,” and he agreed. Mardoqueo soon ditched the bag of chips in favor of the delicious fruit salad.

After overhearing this conversation between Mardoqueo and his friends, we asked Mardoqueo why it is important to eat healthy. According to him, eating healthy helps keep his body strong. He likes to eat watermelon and melon, and lettuce is among one of his favorite vegetables. If Mardoqueo could give a piece of advice to his friends about health and nutrition, it would be this: “Eat fruits and vegetables, don’t eat junk food, wash your hands before you eat brush your teeth teeth after.”

The story of Mardoqueo and his classmates is a prime example of the impact our health trainings are having on the lives of these children. Our preschoolers are not only retaining information from our trainings, but are adopting healthier habits in their everyday lives.