Roshini , a 25-year-old city based NGO partnered with Datla Foundation and Teach For India (TFI) for STAR project in May,2022, to build a student community that is aware of mental hygiene practices and also puts them into action in their daily lives. This project is initiated in 10 Government and budgeted Schools (35 TFI operated classrooms from Grades 2-10) in Hyderabad from August 2022.

Ms. Gayatri Uppalapati, Project Head, STAR and a Counselling Psychologist with Roshini briefed about the Project. “A healthy mind and healthy body enable a person to develop mental strength.” Just like physical hygiene and sanitation are essential to prevent children from having illnesses to the body, mental hygiene practices are necessary to prevent and protect children from many diseases of the mind. Often as adults, while working on our mental health, we rectify unhealthy ways of thinking, emoting, and behaving that we have developed over a period of time. Starting early on a learning journey to become aware of these unhealthy practices and being made aware of available healthy practices will enable children to choose wisely while dealing with life’s stressors.

She also said that, STAR focuses on designing and implementing a socio-culturally adaptive mental hygiene curriculum to help children learn, reflect and choose healthy ways of thinking, behaving and emoting. STAR also focuses on identifying specific children with behavioral, intellectual, emotional, and social skill delays. Planning and implementing the specific interventions for children while keeping the parents and teachers in the loop.