WiRED Presentation Teaches Teenagers in Armenia about Nutrition
BY ALLISON KOZICHAROW; EDITED BY BERNICE BORN
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iRED International-Armenia trainer Anush Kharabaghtsyan recently taught a group of young people ages 13 to 17 about nutrition using WiRED’s Adult Nutrition Module.
WiRED’s module provides an introduction to nutrition that gives practical advice on maintaining a healthy diet (see sidebar for more information).
The presentation took place in Gavar, Armenia, at a Peace Corps-sponsored traveling camp called Growing and Renewing Our World (GROW) and was hosted by Good Hope NGO. The participants came from the Gavar high school, orphanage and nearby communities.
Although the camp’s mission is to teach Armenian youth about the importance of the environment, the WiRED-Armenia team took the opportunity to teach the teenagers about the value of a healthy body and a healthy mind.
The Importance of Nutrition
The World Health Organization defines nutrition as the intake of food, considered in relation to the body’s dietary needs. Good nutrition — an adequate, well balanced diet combined with regular physical activity — is a cornerstone of good health. Poor nutrition can lead to reduced immunity, increased susceptibility to disease, impaired physical and mental development, and reduced productivity.
WiRED’s Adult Nutrition Module is an introduction to nutrition that provides practical advice on maintaining a healthy diet. The module describes nutrition basics, including dietary information on proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, salt, fruits and vegetables. The module is part of a Nutrition Series that includes modules on healthy practices during pregnancy, nursing mothers’ nutrition, infant feeding and child nutrition.
Ms. Kharabaghtsyan said, “The children actively participated in the discussion and took the WiRED module quizzes. Even if they didn’t know the exact answer, participants tried to guess the right one. We emphasized the value of the tests after each module topic. The tests provided an opportunity to reinforce the knowledge acquired by the pupils.”
WiRED-Armenia translator Mariam Sargsyan reported in an interesting corollary that the GROW camp event included a special visit from the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Richard M. Mills, Jr., who met the students and listened to their ideas on how to tackle community problems.
WiRED offers many of its health learning modules in Armenian — thanks to the WiRED-Armenia Translation Team — but the Adult Nutrition Module is not yet one of them. Ms. Sargsyan said, “Although we don’t have the WiRED nutrition module in Armenian, we felt such a need for this topic we presented in Armenian even though the slides were in English. Realizing the importance of the module after the camp experience, our trainer Ms. Kharabaghtsyan is ready to translate this module into Armenian.”
WiRED Director Gary Selnow, Ph.D., said, “I find the WiRED-Armenia partnership to be personally and professionally rewarding. Many Armenians contribute their time and talents in a very active program that provides valuable health education to populations throughout the country. We at WiRED are enthusiastic about this partnership.”
WiRED and WiRED-Armenia
Poverty, scarce healthcare resources and the lack of reliable medical information are creating a healthcare crisis for the people of Armenia.
Since 2012 WiRED has worked in Armenia to provide programs that allow doctors, community health workers and community members access to critical education to combat health issues relevant to Armenia’s underserved people. Health learning events, employing WiRED’s training modules, have been sponsored by WiRED-Armenia, its close partner on many community education projects. For information on WiRED’s work in Armenia, go to the WiRED International – Armenia Facebook page.
WiRED’s goal is to develop strong and effective programs which will provide communities in this post-Soviet state with accurate, reliable and effective health education, administrative support and training outreach. WiRED’s success in improving the health of Armenians rests solidly on its many partners and volunteers (see earlier story).
You can download the modules in this story, and all 400+ of WiRED’s health modules, through WiRED’s Health Module Access Program (HealthMAP) by clicking here. This easy-to-use free program will enable you to create your own customized collection of health learning modules. You can learn more about HealthMAP through WiRED's animation.
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