Exclusive | On a ride with Healthy Habits for Life: Sesame's Sashwati Banerjee

Sesame Workshop India, the non-profit organization behind Galli Galli Sim Sim , the beloved children’s television programme on the leading Indian kids channels CartoonNetwork and POGO and Metlife Foundation have teamed up to expand the nutrition and healthy habits educational outreach programme via mobile phones to Aanganwadis(government run preschool centres) in Gujarat. This is a part of the Healthy Habits for Life campaign supported by MetLife Foundation that also includes activities in Mexico and Brazil. Sashwati Banerjee, Managing Trustee, leads Sesame Workshop in India.

 

Following are excerpts from the interaction Adgully had with Sashwati Banerjee, Managing Trustee, Sesame Workshop India Trust. 

 

 

Sashwati Banerjee (SB): It is well documented that there is a critical need to foster healthy habits in young children, especially in India. UNICEF data for 2010 stated that 1.696 million children under 5 in India die due to preventable causes such as diarrhoea, malnutrition. In addition there's a growing need to impart good nutritional habits even in children across higher socio- eco demographics – juvenile obesity and diabetes is at an all time high.

 

 

SB: During early childhood, children form habits and tastes that last a lifetime providing a window of opportunity to promote positive behaviors that could last well into adulthood, such as eating healthy food, washing hands with soap, and choosing healthy snacks. This is a cause for concern, especially among underserved communities in India and was the crucial reason to launch the ‘Healthy habits for life’ campaign.

 

AG: How is the mobile phone helping in the educational outreach for self-training and to integrate multimedia content in the classroom? 

 

SB: Over our five-year history, Galli Galli Sim Sim has pioneered the use of technology as a tool for learning, spreading Muppet-led lessons through media old and new. A multi-media strategy is vital for India, where 49% of families don’t have access to TV and 4 children out of ten do not have access to schools. As  digital bandwidth opens up throughout the country—even for the poorest families—mobile technology is becoming an agent of education for all Indian children. This means connecting with kids using all the tools at our disposal. We integrate a digital component into all our projects and make our materials available for free online, so learning games and activities are as close as a web browser away (web browser always means that internet connectivity is needed) The MetLife project ‘Healthy Habits for Life’ actually relies on using handsets so need to be connected or have knowledge about using the internet. And we’re using digital technology to go where other media cannot.

 

Specifically for the programme in Gujarat, supervisors at the Anganwadis will be trained by Sesame Workshop to use mobile phones both for self-training and to integrate multimedia content in the classroom. They will also be enabled with Pico projectors – little handheld projectors that are powered by batteries, which will be utilized to project multimedia content to children in the classroom. The mobile phone will also be used to track usage, viewings and monitoring. The Anganwadi Supervisors will in turn train the Anganwadi workers. Training will comprise both in-person and through video modules. Ongoing training will be through pre-loaded mobile phones and each of them will go through a refresher course every three months.

 

Each Anganwadi will be equipped with a mobile phone – for viewing video content, using audio content, monitoring and training as well as a Galli Galli Sim Sim Kit, focusing on health, hygiene and nutrition. The kit will have instruction cards for the Anganwadi staff, manipulative/workbooks for children and worksheets for parents (for interaction at home) and a curriculum integration document.  There will be a distribution of one Pico projector per five Anganwadis, to enable monthly screening of Galli Galli Sim Sim episodes.

 

 

SB: The new outreach program will enable 150 government-run preschool centers or Anganwadis in Dhrangadra and Halvad blocks in Surendranagar, Gujarat.

 

 

SB: Television and Radio both play a critical role in re-enforcing the in classroom content. Now in its third year, the Healthy Habits for Life campaign supported by the MetLife Foundation also includes a TV sponsorship on Cartoon Network & Pogo.

 

It may be recalled that in 2010 Sesame Workshop India, made available special broadcast airings of Healthy Habits for Life episodes covering topics such as hygiene, disease prevention, and nutrition; the development of one public service announcement; dedicated healthy habits content (including activities for children and tips for adults) on the Galli Galli Sim Sim website; and a Mobile Community Viewing pilot, accompanied by educational materials, in Jaipur reaching 100,000 children and 33,000 caregivers.

 

Subsequently, in 2011, the Galli Galli Sim Sim radio program was launched to reach out to children across 11 cities in India. This was a brand new series and was broadcast on All India Radio in several cities including Alwar (Rajasthan), Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), Hazaribagh (Jharkhand), Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) Jallandhar (Punjab), Jammu (Jammu & Kashmir), Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Raigarh (Chhattisgarh), Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir) and Udaipur (Rajasthan). The radio episodes promoted messages such as hand washing with soap, eating healthy foods and a balanced diet, getting physical activity, the importance of immunization, and more. The Galli Galli Sim Sim radio program was produced by adapting material from over 1500 existing Galli Galli Sim Sim television segments and was aired thrice a week over a period of 52 weeks.

 

 

SB: Sesame Workshop's mission is to use the educational power of the media to help children everywhere reach their highest potential. Galli Galli Sim Sim is a multi-platform initiative that combines the power of multimedia and educational outreach to help children prepare better for school and life. Galli Galli Sim Sim facilitates young Indian children’s basic academic and life skills, while celebrating India’s rich cultural diversity, in order to promote their overall cognitive, socio-emotional and physical development. Galli Galli Sim Sim integrates a 360-degree strategy to reach children between the ages of 0-8, especially those that are disenfranchised and under resourced.

 

 

SB: MetLife Foundation was established in 1976 to continue MetLife’s longstanding tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. The Foundation’s commitment to building a secure future for individuals and communities worldwide is reflected in its dedication to empowering older adults, preparing young people and building livable communities.  Since it was established, MetLife Foundation has provided more than $530 million in grants to nonprofit organizations addressing issues that have a positive impact in their communities.