REPORT ON TRAINING FOR CHIRI:
The Student Police Cadet (SPC) Project is a school-based initiative by Kerala Police, implemented jointly by the Departments of Home and Education, and supported by Departments of Transport, Forest, Excise and Local Self-Government. The project trains high school students to respect the laws, practice discipline, and to develop civic consciousness and empathy for vulnerable sections of society. It also strengthens commitment towards the family, community, and the environment, enabling them to resist negative tendencies such as substance abuse, deviant behavior, intolerance, and other social evils. Another initiative by Kerala Police ‘CHIRI’ is a special committee headed by R.Sreelekha IPS [DGP, Fire force], has started its voyage under Shri. Vijayan IPS and is running successfully, supported by the Student Police Cadets of the state.
Cheif Minister Sri Pinarayi Vijayan revealed the schocking statistic in his recent press meet that about 66 children die by suicide in Kerala since March 25. Thus announcing the formation of this special committee to study the issue. ‘CHIRI’ an initiative by Student Police Cadets, to provide counseling and other services. 15 students from each district of the state had been given charge to look on to the matter and 2 days training was arranged for the students about the counseling programme. It is indeed a proud moment for G.G.H.S.S, Cotton Hill as 6 Senoir Cadets got selected to be a part of this venture. Myself Malavika Devi JR, along with my friends Adya Ajay, Abhirami V.S, Al Fathima Shajahan, Adhya K.V and Anagha B Anilkumar are indeed honored to be a part of this project. Along with the students, 2 CPO’s are given charge from Trivandrum city, we are indeed happy to have our beloved CPO, Mrs.Carolin mam to be a part of this project.2 days training programme for the CPO’s were arranged on 21st and 22nd of July and for students on 23rd and 24th of July respectively on the topic “Happy Childhood in Pandemic”.
Day 1: Date - 23/7/2020 Thursday
This meeting was arranged through the Zoom app and we all entered by 8:50 am through the link which was provided by our respective CPO’s. By 9:00 am our meeting started. We were welcomed by Ms.Smitha Mam(Department of Psychiatry). She gave a humble introduction about the motive of the project. We were then given information about the Child and Police(CAP) Initiative ie. Police stations that protect and care for our children. This CAP house is a unique initiative by the Kerala Police which ensures that the children grow up in an atmosphere of affection, protection and care. By 10:00 am our first session started. Dr.Arun B Nair(Associate Professor of Psychiatry, MCH) interacted on the Basic skills necessary for handling problems. He discussed about the Psychological first aid that we have to provide to a Mentee.
It is:
1) Approach
2) Listen
3) Give information
1) Encourage professional help
2) Encourage social support.
He also explained about the depression which is the main cause of suicide. Symptoms of Depression:
1) Continuous sadness
2) Reduced interest in pleasurable activity
3) Unexplained tiredness
4) Sleep disturbance
5) Appetite disturbance
6) Concentration impairment
7) Slowness of thoughts and actions
8) Hopelessness, helplessness, worthlessness, inappropriate guilt
9) Death wishes and suicidal thoughts.
He also discussed about Compassion, Empathetic approach and also maintaining confidentiality. His class was indeed a very informative one and he also provided time for us to ask questions. Arun sir cleared all our doubts regarding the skills necessary for solving problems. By 12:00 am our first session got winded up.
By 3:00 pm our second sesssion started. Dr.Anil Kumar(Professor, Department of Psychiatry,MCH) was present to take a class regarding Positive Mental Health. He stated the benefits of smile. Smile relaxes ourselves, it helps to connect people as it is a universal language, it helps in improving family relationship, it also helps in improving social connection. He also stated that India is in the 140th position in terms of happiness. He then discussed about well being. He explained about the dimensions of well being which includes:
1) Social
2) Physical
3) Occupational
4) Financial
5) Environmental
6) Spiritual
7) Intellectual
8) Emotional
He then stated about the “My Plate” campaign which we haven’t heard before. MyPlate is a reminder to find your healthy eating style and build it throughout your lifetime. Everything you eat and drink matters. The right mix can help you be healthier now and in the future. This means: Focus on variety, amount, and nutrition of the food we eat. According to this project our plates must include Fruits, Vegetables, Proteins, Grains and also Dairy. This session got ended by 4:30 pm. Anil sir really managed to give clear answers to our doubts. More than a class his session was an interactive session were he asked up lots of questions and we all managed to answer it as it was simple and easy to understand.
Our next session was also by Dr.Anil Kumar, and we all were eager to attend his class. It started by 5:30 pm and the discussion was on Psychological first aid. Psychological First Aid (PFA) is an evidence-informed modular approach to help children, adolescents, adults, and families in the immediate aftermath of disaster and terrorism. PFA is designed to reduce the initial distress caused by traumatic events and to foster short- and long-term adaptive functioning and coping.
Five phases of Psychological First Aid:
1) Listen
2) Protect
3) Connect
4) Model
5) Teach.
The 5 main aims of first aid are:
1. Preserve life.
2. Prevent the escalation of the illness or injury.
3. Promote recovery.
4. Pain relief.
5. Protect the unconscious.
By 6:30 pm this session ended up. Again Anil sir asked us many interesting questions and we were able to comment our answers on the chat box so all of us got chance to answer his questions. He clarified our doubts and gave us confidence to help those who approach us. The first day of our training ended successfully while we the selected Student police cadets got new lessons and ideas from eminent psychiatrist of the state.
Day 2: Date - 24/7/2020 Friday
Second day of our training began by 10:15 am. Smt.Arya R Chandran(State programme Officer - ORC), welcomed us all to the programme and first session on Roles and Responsibilities of CAP Desk Volunteers in ‘Chiri’ project was taken by her. At the beginning she explained about the ORC which stands for ‘Our Responsibility to Children’. This project is an integrated initiative of Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) under the department of Women andChild Development, Kerala. The Departments of Education, Health, Social Justice, Home, ST Development, local Self Government & Civil Society Organisations are the partners of the project.
We who provide counseling to the needy are called as Mentors and those who we counsel are called as Mentees.
M -Manages Relationship
E - Encourages
N -Nurtures
T - Teaches
O -Offers Mutual Respect
R -Responds to the Mentee’s need
Mentor
Elder Mentor Peer Mentor [SPC]
Roles of a Peer Mentor:
Chiri help desk
↓
Call
↓
Child/Teacher/Parent/Informer
↓
A child in need of support/help
↓
Mild problem
↓
Elder Mentor
↓
Peer Mentor
↓
Mentee
What support we can give to our friends?
1) Listen
2) Friendly talk
3) Share our ideas/thoughts
4) Assess his/her needs
5) Encourage them to engage with some activities(sports, gardening etc.)
Later on, the captain of this ship, our very respected Vijayan sir addressed us. He explained about the motive and target of this project and how far he expects from us. He is indeed saddened by the suicides that has taken place recently and he has put his faith on us. And as his words suggest we the selected spc cadets, we are confident that we will be able to provide counseling for our needy friends wherever we are.
By 11:00 am the next session was taken by Mr.Baby Prabhakaran sir(CEO, The Blue Point Organization). He briefed about the Do’s and Don’ts while communicatig with the peers in distress.
DO’s:
1) Be a good listener
2) Avoid judging
3) Convert negative thoughts into positive way
4) Use simple language
5) Behave confidently
6) Always stay polite
DON’ts:
1) Don’t interrupt
2)
Don’t over complicate the message
1) Don’t criticize
2) Don’t shout
3) Don’t try to impose your thoughts on them
After this by 3:00 pm the next session was by Dr.Anil Kumar (Professor, Department of Psychiatry,MCH) on the topic “Solution focused interventions”. This time his session was much more fun and interactive as he came up with more activity and questions for us. His activities were in such a matter that we could understand about ourselves through the questions he asked and the activities he made us to work on. By 4:30pm he winded up his session and the next session was by 5:00pm by Dr.Kiran Kumar S(Psychiatrist, Mental Health Centre) on how to identify major signs, symptoms and intensity of the problems.
He presented in Malayalam and it was most appealing for us. He explained about the mental problems that a child faces and what all a child should do to over come these. He also explained about the reasons for the anxiety and depression among children and also the impact of drugs in the mental health of children. By 6:30 pm the whole training programme of 2 days came to an end. We were indeed happy that through this training we were able to clear our doubts regarding the counseling session and indeed, now we all are filled with confidence and also we are eagerly waiting for the next session which is scheduled on 28th July 2020.
From the bottom of my heart I thank my school for providing me an opportunity to be a part of the Student Police Cadet and also Kerala Police for arranging such a platform for us to be a part of such a big social service, being wherever we are when the whole world is standing and fighting together against the deadly pandemic.
THANK YOU!
Prepared by:
Malavika Devi J R, HA2 Class
Senior SPC Cadet.
G.G.H.S.S,Cotton Hill.
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ReplyDeleteIts a very awsome and a good scheme iam really proud with a SPC cadet
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