Bhavishya Yaan students help spread cancer awareness amongst BEST employees

After the completion of a successful workshop conducted in Byculla Municipal School, Salaam Bombay Foundation and Rotary Club of Bombay (RCB) decided to further strengthen the partnership by entering into partnership for conducting sessions and activities of the Super Army programme. The programme is an in school prevention of tobacco use through leadership and life skills development (The Super Army Model) and has been first piloted in the Byculla school adopted by our Bhavishya Yaan programme. This intervention enables the students to build the necessary skills to stay away from tobacco whose consumption is widely prevalent in lower economic classes, as well as provide them with life skills. Two Sessions and activities have already been conducted with 7th, 8th and 9th standard students of The Byculla school. A school level balpanchayat has also been formed wherein leaders have been chosen among the students to lead tobacco control activities in their school.

Super Army Students visit various BEST depots across Mumbai and meet the employees of BEST, to sensitize and create awareness among them. It has been observed that more than 60% of the BEST employees are under the use of tobacco and run a high risk of suffering major diseases such as cancer. Through this BEST depot activity Super Army students enhance their skills such as self confidence, communication skills and other interpersonal skills. These students act as change agents as the community level for tobacco control.