Doctor writes rhymes to save children from disease

Music and poetry are recognised as effective modes of teaching young children. Be it learning to count through nursery rhymes like One, Two, Buckle My Shoe as kids, or The Bone Dance Song from Disney’s hit television show Hannah Montana that helped many of us pass anatomy class, they say if you want to remember something better, put it in a lyric.

The theory that suggests that music and poetry can aid memory is based on a process called chunking, where the brain is forced to combine smaller units of information into larger ones so that more overall information can be stored in our short-term memory, enabling one to memorise things more quickly.

Taking inspiration from this method of learning, a Sanghar-based doctor has started using poetry as a means of educating children about various contagious diseases and how to prevent getting infected.

Dr Jewat Sunder, who has been campaigning for the last six years to spread awareness about viral infections, has been able to over 30,000 children and imparted healthy habits in various schools across the Sanghar district. Dr Sunder’s efforts have been particularly valuable during the pandemic, when poetries written by him were used to help children understand novel concepts like social distancing and vaccination, while also teaching different ways of boosting the immune system.

Dr Jewat Sunder sharing health poems with children about COVID-19 in Khipro Tehsil of Sanghar. PHOTO: EXPRESS

One of his poems called the Story of Two Drops talks about the polio vaccine, which to this day meets consistent barriers by certain segments that do not trust the vaccine, preventing the eradication of the disease from the country. Penned in Sindhi, a verse from the poem addressing children says that “the virus does not believe in religion, the polio drops can save your life. It’s not difficult, neither has does it have any side effects, so let’s make our country free of polio and move towards a prosperous Pakistan.”

Read Anti-polio drive targeting 12.6m children begins today

Dr Sunder, who is a medical officer at Qazi Wali Mohammad Basic Health Centre, said that the idea for the campaign came to him when he was reflecting on his own childhood.

“Our region has been a target for diseases and lacks the healthcare infrastructure needed to prevent the spread of viruses, so often times prevention is the only cure. I was thinking about how to inculcate preventative habits among the young, who are often the most susceptible, when I had a sudden eureka moment. I realised how I still remember every poetry taught to me as a child. This is the most beautiful thing about children’s poetry- the verses remain etched in your memory no matter how old you get which makes them the perfect learning device,” he told.

For the last six years, the doctor, who is a graduate of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences in Jamshoro, says that he has been carrying the mantle of increasing healthcare awareness among children in his region entirely voluntarily.

“I have no aid from any government or non-government agency,” he said, adding that he prints copies of educational verses and takes them to schools in his area, offering to paste them student’s diaries and workbooks.

“In this regard, the teachers in my tehsil have been quite accommodating. They allow me to interact with the children and distribute my literature. On follow up visits I ask children to recite the poetry, and the joyfully do with their teacher’s encouragement,” he told The Express Tribune.