LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION TOOLKIT FOR ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN INDIA 7•
Experience from the field
Children already knew the places and shop where the drugs were available and how to ask for them. (PCI
and Salaam Baalak Trust, Delhi).
Brainstorming helped children to recall and share their own examples. Some children shared that they
wanted to quit drugs. Children said that the connection between drug abuse and HIV became very clear.
(Salaam Baalak Trust, Delhi).Tips for the facilitator- Explain with examples which drugs lead to addictions and which do not. Role-play of the story in
the toolkit is helpful. - This is a long exercise and the activity can stop after point four and continue with the story in the
next session.
ACTIVITY TWO
Advertisements Do Not Lie
Group Check In- Introduce the activity by doing a quick exercise of some catchy jingles or advertisement slogans and
ask the children to identify the product. Brainstorm why one remembers these slogans so effortlessly
(the way they are presented, who is in the advertisement, a song, a scene, dialogue and so on). - Discuss with the children some of the very popular advertisements for alcohol, cigarettes,
gutka. Present a popular print ad and explore the message, layout, why it appears attractive,
what information it does not give. - Ask the children why they found the advertisement attractive.
- A glamorous person was using it
- Showed a rich lifestyle (so if you use the product, you belong to that style of living).
- Happy people (if you buy this, you will feel happy).
- You are unique if you use the product.
Show the children how a magazine or a TV serial has a lot of advertisements. This is how the TV
or magazine makes money. The advertisements tempt us to buy and that is how the
companies make money from us.
- Discuss what the advertisement does not show. For example, if you take alcohol, your breath
smells. If you have too much alcohol, you may vomit. Or you may fall because you lack
coordination. If you smoke, your teeth are stained and you cough. Also discuss how the cost of
the product is never mentioned so that you are tempted first and then made to pay later. - Divide the children into two or three groups and ask them to select an ad from a magazine or
recall a popular one from TV. As a group, they discuss how the advertisement tempts you to buy.
Now ask the children to make a new advertisement that speaks the truth and present it. They
can draw a picture or role-play. Ask the rest of the group for comments.