SHILLONG, Jan 16: A total of 291 students benefited from soft skills and wellbeing winter camps organised under the “ia ka mynried” initiative, sponsored by the district administration of East Jaintia Hills through the District Mineral Foundation. As many as 147 students of Rymbai Government Secondary School and 144 students of Jalaphet Circle Upper Primary School were felicitated at certification events held earlier on Thursday in their respective schools. MLA of Sutnga-Saipung Santa Mary Shylla was the chief guest at Jalaphet while MDC of Rymbai-Khliehriat Finelyness Bareh served as the chief guest at Rymbai.
Aptly named “ia ka Mynried” which translates from Pnar to “for a better tomorrow”, the winter camps are the district administration’s endeavour to engage the youth in positive interventions during the holidays, and to address the government’s growing concerns surrounding substance abuse amongst adolescents. The programme implementing agency, Meghalaya-based social enterprise AVENUES has developed a curriculum that focusses on building confidence, basic communication skills and healthy coping habits against exposure to substance abuse. The winter camps also provide a platform for the students to showcase their talents in an effort to build self-esteem and identify personal strengths. The training interventions are targeted at students of Classes 7, 8, 9 and 10 and are delivered over a duration of 24 hours spread across six days.
A key highlight of these certification events held earlier today was the ‘Wellbeing Pledge’ taken by the programme participants against drugs and substance abuse. Some of the participants took to the stage earlier to share their lessons and key takeaways from the programme, while some showcased their talents in front of the audience.
Bornali Rabha of Class 10 shared about her biggest takeaway from the camps held in Rymbai, saying, “Coping skills are ways in which we deal with a situation, whether negatively or positively, in other words, healthy or unhealthy. When things go wrong, we tend to get hurt and angry. And when we can’t cope with the situation anymore, we turn to bad choices like alcohol or maybe even drugs, which can destroy our lives. But practising healthy coping habits will help us to deal with problems in a good way. We don’t hurt others or ourselves. We take the situation very positively.”
Treibor Dkhar, a Class 10 student, shared her programme experience at the event held in Jalaphet, saying, “Our trainers taught us the meaning and importance of First Impressions. From greeting everyone to giving a proper handshake and maintaining eye contact while speaking, I have learnt to conduct myself appropriately. I have also been taught how to speak clearly with confidence and that these are important lessons to build good and positive relationships with everyone.”
Speaking at the event, Local MLA Santa Mary Shylla said, “I hope that this initiative of the Deputy Commissioner’s Office has provided you with the opportunity to make this a learning process for life and to build your talent and wellbeing. This is the second phase of these winter camps in our district, and we’ll continue to bring better and bigger camps in the future. But from this past week, I hope you have been able to use the platform to build your confidence, communication skills, talent and, most importantly, your healthy coping habits. And please remember, to always say no to drugs.”
Addressing the event in Rymbai, MDC Finelyness Bareh said, “I’d like to express my gratitude to the team that travelled all the way from Shillong and the Office of the Deputy Commissioner of East Jaintia Hills for bringing this programme to our district. It makes me happy to hear the speeches of the children who have spoken on how to fight the influence of drugs. I urge the students to spread the awareness and lessons from this programme to others. As the number of young people influenced by drugs is growing day by day, let us be the ones to set a good example so, as a whole district, we can be free from this plague.”
The certification event in Rymbai was also attended by EJH Assistant Commissioner Shiv Malviya, Younilas Lamare, Principal of Rymbai Government Secondary School and teachers of the school. Khliehriat SDO Aditya Verma, Fr. Royal Saldanha, Principal of Jalaphet Circle Upper Primary School and teachers of the school were also present at the event in Jalaphet.
The training interventions under “ia ka Mynried” Winter Camps will extend to more schools in the coming months with the objective to reach over 1,700 youths in the district.
