CHENNAI, SEP 17, 2015: The World Health Organisation estimates that nearing 250 million children world-over will be affected by substance abuse in the next decade.
The Don Bosco Research Centre (DBRC), based in Mumbai, is doing its bit to help children combat the drug menace.
DBRC organised a two-day teacher training workshop in “Identification and prevention of substance abuse among school children” in Chennai on September 11 and 12.
The workshop was held in conjunction with TTK Hospital, Chennai.
57 teachers from almost 30 English and Tamil medium schools across Chennai attended the training session.
A pre-training evaluation was done to gauge the teachers’ current level of understanding about substance abuse and its attendant symptoms and consequences.
Four highly qualified resource persons from TTK Hospital, Doctor Anita Rao, Jacqueline Allenby David, Docotor Thirumagal and Sheeba Williams - each with experience in the field of substance abuse - covered a variety of topics that included identifying signs and symptoms of substance abuse, causes and consequences, role of teachers, role of parents and assertiveness training.
Case studies, sharing of experiences, role play and small group activities all served to make the two day programme interesting and entertaining.
The Chief Guest, Jayshree Padmanabhan – the Principal of Gill Adarsh Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai - underlined the important role teachers play in combating the issue.
Hemalatha Anil Kumar, a Consultant at DBRC, conducted a quiz on the drug issue. Post-training evaluation revealed the heightened impact of the programme and a number of relevant and useful suggestions.