Blany Pinto sdb
VIRAR, AUGUST 14, 2008: The Resurrection Parish at Virar has a group which prides in calling its
elf ‘The Teens’. This group consists of students in the age group of 13 to 15 years. The aim behind creating this group was to help them remain attached to the church and to enable them eventually integrate easily with the existing youth group. On every third Sunday of the month the Teens have their meeting, with Sr. Pushpa and Alex Lokanathan as their animators. The activities planned for the Teens are of a spiritual and social nature. There is also a focus on personal development and service. Once in three months a full day programme is organized aimed at their overall development. On Sunday, August 10, 2008, one such full day programme was organized, focusing on the issue of “Sex Education and Adolescent Health”. The resource persons for the day were Ms Kranti and Ms Sabla. The day began with the participants introducing themselves and sharing their life’s dreams, aspirations and mission. The resource persons then explained that the objective of the programme was to lead the participants to a holistic knowledge of their body so that they can respect it, take pride in it, protect it and have mastery over it. This in turn would help them grow towards
responsible parenthood. The topics covered were – perceptions of the body, myths surrounding the body, knowledge of the body, menstruation, fertility, sex determination and conception. At the end, time was given to individuals to clarify their doubts and ask questions. The youngsters expressed their gratitude to the animators for organizing this educative programme. They were also very appreciative of the way in which the resource persons handled this delicate yet important topic.