Reflections for the week from Prof Rajat.

This week started a very exciting phase of the Reproductive Health Program at Viseisei Sai Health Centre. This program is being funded by the European Union to empower rural women and girls in RH.
 On Monday we had the 1st workshop of the 3 for the school teachers. 
These workshops are to be held in Lautoka, Nadi and Ba. Fifty school teachers attended from Lautoka on Monday. Mr. Wise the principal education officer opened the conference and commented on how important the reproductive health program is to the development of a sense of self worth and life decision making skills for young children. He pointed out that Viseisei Sai Health Centre provides the necessary expertise in reproductive health to equip teachers better in delivering the curriculum. 
These were indeed encouraging words for the RH team and the day was well received. We had a similar workshop in Nadi on Thursday and there were 44 participants. This again was a very successful day and several key themes have emerged from the 2 workshops. These are:
- Many of the teachers have not been trained to deliver the reproductive health component of the curriculum
- There are concerns about parental disapproval regarding issues being discussed 
Both the workshops were very well received with interactive sessions and group works that were very useful. Professor Rajat Gyaneshwar, Associate Professor Swaran Naidu as well as the Health Promotion Officer Mosese Baseisei and the rest of the RH Team made presentations. At the end the teachers felt more empowered to handle issues regarding reproductive health.
Tuesday saw us at the University of the South Pacific Lautoka Campus where our team did a workshop with about 35 university students. I joined the group for a while and was able to discuss human values associated with sexual and reproductive health. I also discussed with the group about risk managing and unplanned sexual encounter especially in relation to preventing a pregnancy, prophylaxis against STI and emotional risks. There were some very useful and dynamic interactive sessions with students who were very keen to learn more about how best to manage their own Reproductive Health and not be a victim to unsafe practices. 

On Wednesday the team was on an outreach clinic at the Ami Chandra Memorial School in Tavakubu. I joined the group after my operating theatre list at the hospital. It is important to reflect on the fact that 3 of my 4 cases were cancer cases and these could have been prevented if the women had cervical cancer screening at the appropriate times.  So seeing our team in the field providing breast and cervical cancer screening took a new meaning.  All I can say is that I think Swaran was absolutely right in insisting that the outreach clinics are important. Our experience is that many women presenting to the team have never been screened before. On another note I saw a picture of Pundit Ami Chandra at the school. Memories flooded back because this was a name that I first new as a very young child. Pundit Ami Chand was one of the pioneers in education and the trade union movement. He was a Champion for education for girls and was the teacher who started the Arya Kanya Paatshaala in Ba. This and its sister schools had a very important role in the education of girls in Fiji. On Friday we were at Tokovuci settlement for the same purpose. 35 women attended this clinic. 
The RH team was at Tokovuci Settlement today. The team saw 35 patients today all of who had education in RH followed by targeted care.