Established in 2017, the Wellness Team of Vidya Bhawan Society is located at the sprawling main campus at Fatehpura, Udaipur. The team is dedicated to promoting the mental, physical, and social well-being of students, staff, and the community in general, through awareness-building, counselling, and creating a safe and inclusive space for all.
Particularly in the state of Rajasthan, topics such as Mental Health, Menstruation, Gender, Sexuality etc, have been stigmatised due to various cultural, social, and systemic factors. Traditional beliefs and cultural norms associate mental illnesses and menstruation with personal weaknesses and/or supernatural causes, leading to marginalisation and stigma. They are seen as a consequence of Karma, or Divine punishment which leads to the taboo status of such topics.
A lack of basic awareness and limited mental health services in rural areas have led to tainted knowledge and people rely on quack medical practices exclusively, leading to misled diagnosis, etc. Stressful living conditions have risen due to increased poverty, overcrowding, and a lack of basic amenities, factoring into high stress levels and increased mental health issues.
Partial and vague knowledge of sensitive topics such as mental health, menstruation, etc may lead to discrimination and social exclusion which has a significant impact on their quality of life and ability to access basic opportunities such as those of education and employment and the inadequately trained healthcare providers might lead to substandard care.
The Vidya Bhawan Wellness Team hence tries to ensure that individuals with mental health issues, lack of basic healthcare services, receive the much desired support and care they need. This comes in-hand with raising awareness, improving access to mental health services, and challenging the limiting attitudes and beliefs.
Several groups such as women, children, tribal communities, people with disabilities, etc, are vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, and discrimination. Addressing the needs of such vulnerable groups requires addressing the systemic inequalities, promoting social inclusion and ensuring access to essential amenities and services.
Ayushman Bharat, launched in 2018, in one of its two components, aims to establish Health and Wellness Centres to provide primary healthcare service. The programme is designed to address the needs of the vulnerable populations of India by providing access to quality healthcare.
Schools play a significant role in the development of lifelong healthy behaviours in students and hence, the School Health and Wellness Programme, incorporated as a part of the Health and Wellness component of the Ayushman Bharat Programme, launched in February 2020, is being implemented in government and government aided schools. The aim of this programme is to improve physical, mental, and social health and lay emphasis on healthy rearing practices which result in disease-free healthy adults and the Vidya bhawan team, in agreement of this programme, strives to provide quality mental health care for those in need.
Moreover, in the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United National General Assembly in 2015, Goal 3 is to ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.’ Specifically Target 3.4, aims to ‘By 2030, reduce by one-third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.’ Within this Target, suicide rate is an indicator of development. The Vidya Bhawan Wellness Team, inline with the SDGs, promotes awareness and takes measures for prevention and treatment of mental health illnesses.
Over the years, the team has developed a counselling clinic in all the institutions, three schools, two teacher training colleges, a degree college and a polytechnic college of Vidya Bhawan and have contributed to camps and projects by providing counselling and mental health support. These projects include but are not limited to Bageecha, Unchi Udaan, Shiksha Sambal, Shaikshik Sanvardhan, Apna Sapna, Abhilasha Program. They focus on spreading awareness related to stigmatised topics such as Mental Health, Emotional Well-being, Prevention Of Sexual Harassment (POSH), Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), Gender, Sexuality, Reproduction, Child Rights, Juvenile Justice Act, Sex Education and Menstrual Health & Hygiene, through various workshops and sessions. The team aims at the sensitisation of such topics in order to create an all-inclusive environment where everyone can feel welcomed.
The Wellness Team discusses with students and spreads awareness on Unhealthy Food Habits, Stress Management, Primary Negative Emotions, Positive Affirmations, Acts of Kindness, Adolescence and Puberty, etc. The team also works on promoting diversity and sensitisation by establishing the concepts of Plurality, Harmony, Growth, and Development. The team provides support for children in calming down anxieties stemming from exams, and/or other external factors.