Gandhi School
Gandhi School is a night school for the children of daily laborers who cannot attend regular classes during the day. Located in my home city of Rohtak, Haryana, it serves students who balance work, family responsibilities, and education. I first met the children before my gap year, but during my gap year I spent more time teaching them basic public health topics. These children are incredibly resilient, and I truly learned as much from them as they did from me. Here are a few highlights from my time teaching there.
01
Lesson: Importance of Sanitation
In this lesson, I introduced the basics of sanitation: why handwashing matters, how germs spread, and how keeping your surroundings clean protects your health.
Memory: One student laughed and said I sounded just like his mother telling him to clean his bed, I said his mom sounds like a smart woman!
02
Lesson: Nutrition/Exercise
In this lesson, I emphasized the importance of exercise for our health. I was plenty aware that these children likely get lots of exercise on their day to day so I focused on the science of exercise and its benefits.
Memory: After class, some of the older girls challenged me to a badminton match. Needless to say, they were better than me.
03
Lesson: Diwali and Pollution
Around Diwali, I taught a lesson on how festival-related air and noise pollution affect our health. We talked about how to protect ourselves by wearing masks during heavy smog and how reducing or choosing safer fireworks can make a big difference to the environment. The aim was to help students enjoy the festival while understanding the impact of their choices on their health and community.
Memory: The students showed me the beautiful rangoli in the photo, which reads “The path to light is darkness.”
04
Menstrual Health
In this session, I taught the basics of menstrual health, such as how the cycle works, common symptoms, and the importance of proper sanitary practices. The goal was to create a comfortable space where the girls could ask questions openly and understand their bodies with confidence.
Memory: After the lesson, a usually shy student told me she was glad to learn why her period occurs because her mom had told her it's just a monthly curse woman deal with.
05
Lesson: Vaccinations
I taught a lesson on vaccinations and their importance. I explained the basic concept of active immunity around which they are based and how vaccinations helped eradicate smallpox.
Memory: I asked them to raise their hand if they had their vaccinations, I was shocked and pleased when they all raised their hands. The mass immunization initiatives in India seem to work!