Nourish
north
2022/23
Progress update of advocacy campaign
Table of Contents
Contents
01.
Introduction 02
02.
Virtual Classroom 03
03.
Suvadi Shoutouts 04
04.
Social Media Channels 05
05.
Community Events 06
06.
School Events 10
07.
Mass Media 12
INTRODUCTION
Health communication is the skillful practice of conveying health information, often through public health campaigns. It aims to improve health literacy, guide personal choices, and address crises like the food shortage and malnutrition. By raising awareness, fostering involvement, and inspiring action, it plays a crucial role in people's lives. This form of communication contributes significantly to individual, community, and societal well-being, shaping beneficial health-oriented social norms and enhancing overall quality of life.
Health literacy signifies the extent to which individuals can access, comprehend, and utilize health information to make informed and beneficial choices for their well-being. Shortcomings in health literacy often emerge when barriers like limited economic resources or language disparities come into play. Recognizing the low literacy rate prevalent in the village clusters, a strategy was devised to create user-friendly posters centred around locally available edible plants, including yams, spinach, vegetables, fruits, millets, and grains. These posters were thoughtfully designed with simple language, abundant visuals, and comprehensive explanations, detailing not only the nutritional benefits but also easy preparation methods.
The posters, flyers, and guideline booklets crafted as integral components of the Nourish North initiative were disseminated directly to female participants and to a broader audience via social media platforms. A multifaceted approach was employed to amplify awareness, spanning media outlets, local newspapers, online blogs, and impactful advocacy campaigns conducted directly in schools. Impressively, within a single year, the intricate challenge posed by the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition in rural communities and the effective strategies to combat it were effectively conveyed to the general populace.
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virtual classroom
Suvadi Shoutouts
A virtual classroom serves as a dynamic online platform for health educators and teachers to deliver informative posters, facilitate meaningful engagement, and foster collaborative group work among students within the virtual class. This distinctive educational environment operates in real-time, emphasizing synchronous interaction. Its primary objective is to raise awareness about the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition and practical approaches to address it, including the restoration of a culturally balanced diet encompassing a diverse array of foods. Notably, the curriculum covers vital categories such as millet, grains, yams, and spinach, and locally sourced fruits and vegetables.
To bolster this initiative, a dedicated group of school teachers underwent comprehensive training on promoting diet diversity and attaining nutritional sufficiency. These educators, in turn, convey knowledge about diet variety, micronutrition, and combating hidden hunger to their students. Our virtual classroom is accessible to the public via www.suvadi.net. In tandem with this effort, we have established partnerships with local nonprofit organizations like ARV Trust (located in Thellaipalai) and civil society groups, collaboratively expanding the utilization of the virtual classroom. For areas lacking internet connectivity, we have thoughtfully distributed printed versions of our posters to community centers and schools.
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Suvadi Shoutouts is an advocacy campaign for diet diversification and nutritional adequacy through social media. In today's world, social media is ubiquitous. Young women and mothers are particularly active on these platforms. Recognizing this, Suvadi has developed an advocacy campaign called Suvadi Shoutouts to raise awareness about the importance of diet diversification and nutritional adequacy. Suvadi Shoutouts is a powerful tool for raising awareness about malnutrition and promoting healthy eating habits. By reaching young women and mothers on their preferred platforms, Suvadi is helping to break the cycle of malnutrition and improve the health of future generations. Suvadi is campaigning through the following social media platforms:
- Facebook and Instagram: Using posters and infographics to communicate the benefits of diet diversification visually.
- Medium: Publishing 2-5 minute articles that delve deeper into the topic.
- YouTube: Creating short videos that are easy to share and digest.
- Twitter: Sharing updates on the campaign's progress and community events.
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Success stories on medium
suvadi shoutouts: instagram
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Community events
Several community events were organized throughout the project period to reach wider audiences. Here are some examples of the community events that were conducted:
01
YSF forum
A YSF forum was held on June 24, 2023, at Hoover Auditorium, Faculty of Medicine, Jaffna. The forum was titled "Healthier Tomorrow: Plate, People, and Planet" and was delivered by Dr. K. Shribavan, Co-founder of Suvadi.
The forum was attended by 250 school and university students. Dr. K. Shribavan discussed the importance of diet diversity and environmental sustainability in creating a healthier future. He also highlighted the role that young people can play in making a difference.
The forum was a great success. It raised awareness about the importance of healthy eating and environmental sustainability among young people. It also inspired them to take action to create a healthier future.
02
World Health Day
A special discussion on World Health Day 2023 was organized by Women Activists in Chankanai with the support of the Suvadi Organization. The event focused on the importance of traditional foods and their role in promoting health and well-being.
03
World Food Day
On April 21, 2023, we celebrated World Food Day with a cluster of Omanthai women. The event focused on the importance of nutritious and sustainable diets. One of the event's highlights was the introduction of “nutribars”, a value-added novel food made with local ingredients. The women were then given the opportunity to taste the “nutribars” and provide feedback.
The event was a success in raising awareness about the importance of nutritious and sustainable diets. It also provided the women with the opportunity to learn about a new food that they could potentially incorporate into their own diets.
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YARl YSF
Healthier tomorrow :
plate, people & planet
short videos on Youtube
Community events
Thai Pongal
Thai Pongal is a traditional harvest festival of Tamils. It is celebrated in the month of Thai in the Tamil calendar, which falls in mid-January. The festival is a time to thank the sun, earth, rain, and cattle for a good harvest. In 2023, Thai Pongal also coincided with the International Year of Millets. To celebrate Thai Pongal and the International Year of Millets, we made a delicious Kodo millet pongal in our office. We hope that our celebration of Thai Pongal and the International Year of Millets will help raise awareness of these crops' importance and their contribution to food security and nutrition.
Nourish North 2023 Mini Expo
A special exhibition called "Nourish North 2023" was held at the Ark Building on March 4th, 5th, and 6th, 2023. It was organized by the Suvadi Organization to mark International Women's Day. The exhibition featured traditional food products from women in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, and Vavuniya districts. It also showcased a variety of millets, spices, tubers, edible plants, vermicompost models, home garden models, biogas models, value-added foods, and preserved foods.
Workshops and On-farm Trainings
A series of workshops for women leaders were held in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, and Vavuniya districts for three weeks in March 2023. The workshops aimed to develop an action plan in collaboration with rural women leaders and young women. The final workshop was held on March 21, 2023, at the Uyirmai permaculture farm in Vavuniya. 44 women leaders participated in the workshop, which was facilitated jointly by Mr. Sivasaravanapavan Sunthareswaran and Dr Selvamalar Aiyadurai
Woman Day Celebrations
International Women's Day Celebrations have been organized on Monday, March 6, 2023, at the ARC Building in Naachimar Kovil Road, Jaffna. The event was well-attended by women from all over Jaffna. The event began with a traditional welcome ceremony, followed by speeches of eminent scholars. There was also a short video-making and quiz competition on women's health and empowerment. The winners of the competitions were awarded prizes. In the evening, there was a theatre performance by a young women's team. The event ended with a newly composed song for Women's Day performed by Matheesan and his team. The performance was followed by a lunch of traditional Jaffna food and aloe vera juice for all participants. The event was a great success and was a valuable opportunity for women to learn about their rights and to network with other women.
World Health Day at Chankanai
The community events organised by SUVADI during the project period reached over 1,000 women and raised awareness about the impact of the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition and how to break it.
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Success stories on medium
School events
Suvadi organized two workshops in August 2023 to introduce virtual classrooms and advocate for diet diversity.
The first workshop was held on August 4 at the J/ Sivapirakasa Hindu Primary School in Chankanai. It was attended by 49 students from grades 4 and 5, 18 parents, school teachers, and the principal. The students were divided into six groups and tasked with creating a food plate based on the food they had eaten for lunch the day before. They were able to do this actively and correctly.
The trainer explained the Sri Lankan food plate model, the importance of diverse food, the importance of water intake, and the importance of fruit and vegetable intake for students. The tea break was served with a natural drink called hibiscus flower juice and a traditional snack. The trainer also discussed nutrition, micro nutrition, hidden hunger, diet diversity, and introducing edible plants. The participants said that they greatly benefited from the program.
The second workshop was held on August 14 at the Anantha Kumarasamy Primary School in Puthiya Velar Sinakulam, Omanthai, and Vavuniya. It was attended by 18 students from grades 3, 4, and 5, 20 parents, and the principal. Peanut biscuits and lime juice were served during the break. The students enthusiastically participated in the food plate activity. Parents also learned more about food and nutrition. The principal and teachers are eager to practice this idea in their school meal program.
A cohort of teachers was trained online from January 10 to February 26 on diet diversity and identifying edible plants in the environment. They learned about the different types of plants, greens, vegetables, fruits, and yams that are available in their region, as well as how to identify and prepare them.
They also learned about the importance of diet diversity for health and well-being. The teachers used a virtual learning platform to access the training materials and participate in discussions with the trainers. The platform also included recipes that could be made from the different types of crops.
After the training, the teachers were able to introduce diet diversity concepts to their students. They used the knowledge and skills they had gained to create lessons and activities that were engaging and informative. The students were excited to learn about the different types of edible plants and how to prepare them.
The ‘Nourish North’ Virtual Classroom can be accessed through this link: https://www.suvadi.net/
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Nourish North
in schools
Making of Healthy Food Plates
Introduction of Nourish
North Virtual classroom
MASS MEDIA
Suvadi has also campaigned for the Nourish North Initiative project through mass media. The progress of the project and specific actions carried out under the initiative have been covered by popular online magazines, news media, radio, and local TV channels. For example, following our Women's Day celebrations and mini expo, Jegan Arulaiya wrote an article titled "Women's Day, strength & Knowledge through togetherness" on Lanka Business Online.
Dr. Krishanthan, our project associate, was interviewed by Nimiruvu Media. He discussed the health benefits of local edible plants and ways to improve diet diversity. Dr. Selvamalar Aiyadurai, our advisor, and Dr. Prabu Nadaraja, a public health specialist, were interviewed by SBS Tamil Australia. Kuviyam media (VJ TV) visited Thellipalai villages and documented the improvements brought by the Nourish North initiative.
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Media | Link |
SBS Tamil Australia | |
Lanka Business Online | |
Nimirvu Media | |
Marumoli Online | |
Kuviyam Media |
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Dr Krish’s talk on Nimirvu Media about known herbs & unknown uses
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This article is about the exhibition and the women’s day celebrations
SBS Tamil radio broadcasted an interview with Dr Prabu and Dr Selvamalar
about the Nourish North Initiative
Nourish
Lanka Business Online published an article
by Mr. Jehan Arulaiya
NORTH
Nourish
NORTH
Nourish North is a flagship initiative of SUVADI supported by the Australian High Commission to Sri Lanka through a Direct Aid Program Grant.It is a solid step towards breaking the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition in Northern Sri Lanka.
Contact
Nourish North Project Office
158, Potpathy Road,
Kondavil, 40,000
Jaffna Sri Lanka
www.suvadi.org
md@suvadi.org
Twitter:@suvadi
Nourish North
Social media channels
01
02
Suvadi Shoutouts on Youtube
We are creating and uploading short videos on YouTube regularly to raise awareness about the importance of micronutrients, diet diversity, and the benefits of plants in our environment. As part of the Suvadi Shoutouts campaign, we have posted 50 short videos and have reached over 80,581 views. You can watch our videos on the following link: http://www.youtube.com/@suvadi
Suvadi Shoutouts on Facebook and Instagram
Facebook and Instagram are two of the most popular social media platforms among young women. Our organization has a separate page on Facebook for the Suvadi Shoutouts campaign. This gives us an excellent opportunity to reach a large pool of people who are interested in our topic.
On Facebook, we post updates about the project, posters related to hidden hunger, four common pathways to nutrition, diet diversity, and nutritional value and food recipes for millets, spinach, fruits, vegetables, and yams. We have 4.7K followers on our official Suvadi page and 5.6K followers on our Suvadi Shoutouts page.
On Instagram, we post images and videos of the project, posters, and recipes. We have 480 followers on our Instagram page. We are actively engaging with our followers on both platforms. We respond to comments and questions and encourage people to share our posts. We believe social media is a powerful tool for raising awareness about hidden hunger and promoting healthy eating habits among young women.
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Suvadi Shoutouts in Medium
Medium is a blogging platform that is a great option for Suvadi. It is one of the easiest blogging sites to use, and it offers a huge readership. Here are some specific examples of how Suvadi has used Medium:
short videos on Youtube
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