Adolescent Health

Improving reproductive health of young people to empower them with tools and resources to be responsible citizens.

Comprehensive sexual education (CSE)

Comprehensive sexuality education is a rights-based and gender-transformative approach, whether in school or outside of school. It is most effective when comprehensive sexuality education is taught over several years by integrating age-appropriate information that accounts for the developing capacities of young people.

The CSE program is the key component of the life skills program at Helplife. The program has been designed to ensure that girls and the young women learn about their bodies, and are given CSE and awareness in a graceful, learned and protected environment.

The CSE program at Helplife is designed as per the cultural needs and the program has taken years to develop after testing on in-house girls (EquipHelplife) recording their reactions on the understanding of their knowledge about sex, and how culturally its appropriateness is defined. At the same time Helplife has made sure that we use tools and resources that are approved by Government of India (NARI).

Every young person is vulnerable depending on their personal situation. There is a hidden need to address the issues of adolescent health and sexuality to make sure that they are in good control of their lives.

Helplife currently is enrolling out of school girls in Pune, but is happy to work with schools interested in promoting responsible behavior of the girls ad boys from peri-urban slums of Pune district. Our online program of life skills once a week is going on since Covid-19, 2020.

Comprehensive sexuality education should recognize the unique needs of learners, especially vulnerable youth groups – such as LGBTQ+ youth, youth living with disabilities, young people in humanitarian settings, young people who use drugs, young people living with HIV, and young transgender people – and should be tailored to reflect their realities.

The key components of the education program are:

Reproductive Health

Life skills Program

Research and Innovative program of Life Skills that has integrated Comprehensive sexual education (CSE) as part of holistic development package. Other components of the package are adult education, vocational trainings, mental health, physical health.

Helplife program on Menstrual Health in 2015-2016, a project sponsored and mentored by Social Venture Partners (SVP) and supported by Gits Food Products Pvt Ltd. Entitled, “A Happier Menses: Sanitary Napkins Manufacturing Unit”.

The objective of the project was the provision of low cost, bio-degradable sanitary pads to the community.

The project aimed to provide a livelihood to underprivileged women, through being employed to make low-cost sanitary pads. The production unit was set up to enable them to produce these bio-degradable sanitary napkins in a sustainable manner.

Fourteen women from low socio-economic strata of society were employed in Pune, after training and counselling them for the job.

This project impacted the lives of the twelve women, who would otherwise have not been employed due to their illiteracy, family issues – and also addressed the reproductive health needs of women and adolescent girls who because of wrongful menstrual practices suffered from reproductive tract infections and often drop out of school.

Key findings of this innovative program

There is a need for the regular source of income for these underprivileged women
There is a need for creating awareness of the use of sanitary pads
Improving living and health conditions of underprivileged women
There is a need for the provision of low-cost bio-degradable sanitary pads to the community (Eco-friendly).

The research on developing low-cost sanitary napkins is on-going, and evidence is being created on hygiene during menstruation especially for the adolescent girls.