UIP-2: Unseen Threats: How Tiny Invaders Affect Our Lives

1. Problem Statement ⚡

Ashraya works closely with children and families from Denotified and Notified Tribes such as the Waghri, Sikligar, Mahar, Matang, Pardi, and others, belong to communities often described as marginalised within the marginalised. In these bastis, issues related to dietary practices, health awareness, and hygiene concerns are widespread.

Tobacco chewing, smoking, irregular meals, lack of exercise, and poor hygiene silently creep into daily life. These habits may seem harmless at first, but they are invisible invaders—slowly weakening bodies and increasing the risk of diseases like cancer.

What makes the situation more alarming is the lack of awareness. Many community members either don’t know the risks or believe cancer is a curse rather than a preventable disease. This silence allows unhealthy habits to thrive across generations.

2. Project Description 🎭

To tackle this pressing issue, the students of 8th HSP took their learning from the classroom into the community. Through their Unit Integrated Project titled “Invisible Invaders”, with the central theme of cancer and cancer-causing habits, they explored how everyday choices impact health and how awareness can help prevent illness.

Building on their science classes, where they had studied communicable and non-communicable diseases, their symptoms, and preventive measures, the project enabled them to step beyond theory into real-world action, observing health challenges in their communities, analyzing how unhealthy habits contribute to disease, and identifying practical solutions to prevent them.

✨ Activities included:

• Conducted surveys in hospitals and local bastis, asking questions about tobacco, alcohol, hygiene, and cancer awareness.

• Observed real stories from families and neighbors to understand how habits shape health.

• Created posters and awareness skits to present their learnings in creative and relatable ways.

• Performed a skit where the “Invisible Invaders” (smoking, junk food, alcohol, tobacco) appear as characters, showing how they tempt people but ultimately harm them.

💡 Outcome: The project helped students recognize that cancer is not a curse but often a result of preventable lifestyle habits. By spreading this message, they began the first steps in changing the mindset of their community.

3. Project Goals / Objectives 🎯

This UIP was not just an academic task but a lived journey, blending classroom knowledge with real community experiences. Students stepped beyond textbooks to explore the everyday realities of their families and neighbours, understanding how lifestyle choices affect health.

Objectives:

🚭 Raise Awareness About Unhealthy Habits: Students learned that smoking, chewing tobacco, alcohol, junk food, poor hygiene, and lack of exercise are major contributors to cancer and other lifestyle diseases. Observing hospital cases and community practices showed them how these habits silently harm health.

✨Empower Students as Awareness Leaders: Through posters, skits, and discussions, students educated peers and community members, realizing that simple, relatable communication can inspire real change.

🌱 Promote Healthy Practices: Students reflected on their own habits and encouraged balanced diets, exercise, hygiene, and avoiding harmful substances—becoming role models for their families and communities.

This project helped students realize that addressing unhealthy habits is not just about knowledge, but about action—transforming understanding into prevention, responsibility, and community impact.

4. Process and Timeline 🗓️

The students began their journey by stepping out of the classroom and into the world around them, determined to understand how unhealthy habits affected their community.

• Survey and Observation: They designed simple surveys asking families and neighbors questions like: “Have you heard about cancer?”, “Do you know that smoking, alcohol, or poor hygiene can cause cancer?”, and “Do you eat fruits and vegetables regularly?” They also inquired about daily habits: tobacco or alcohol use, handwashing, physical activity, and sources of information about cancer.

  The survey revealed that unhealthy habits were alarmingly common in the

  community- 45% of respondents used tobacco or smoked, 25% followed an unhealthy diet, and 20% consumed alcohol regularly. Additionally, 15% reported poor hygiene practices, while only 5% engaged in regular physical activity.

  These findings became a wake-up call for the students- helping them realize how everyday habits directly shape community health.

  
  

• Hospital Visits and Community Engagement: Students visited hospitals and observed patients affected by lifestyle-related diseases. Later, in the bastis, they discovered that many people were aware of the risks but continued harmful practices. This reinforced the urgent need for awareness and preventive action.

Our students visited Lt. Rajeev Gandhi Hospital, where they conducted a survey and held an in-depth discussion with the doctor on the causes and concerns related to cancer.

• Creative Action: To translate their findings into impact, students prepared posters and a skit. In the skit, “Invisible Invaders” such as tobacco, junk food, and alcohol tempted people, while the characters of awareness and healthy choices fought back. Families and peers were engaged during the performances, making the lessons relatable and memorable.

• Reflection and Discussion: After the surveys and skits, students discussed their learnings in class, connecting community realities with the science of prevention and lifestyle choices.

  
  

5. Student Reflection 💭

• 🚨 Silent Threats: Cancer and lifestyle diseases don’t appear overnight—they develop silently over time due to habits like smoking, alcohol, poor hygiene, and junk food. Prevention is not just important; it is essential.

  
  

• 🥗 Power of Healthy Eating: Fresh fruits, vegetables, balanced meals, and regular water intake strengthen the body, boost immunity, and reduce disease risk. Junk food may be convenient and tasty, but it weakens health, causes obesity, and increases vulnerability.

• 💪 Preventive Care Matters: Small habits like washing hands, exercising, and going for regular check-ups build long-term health and protect families. Prevention is a powerful shield.

  
  

• 🌟 Be the Change: Change begins with us. By adopting healthy habits and spreading awareness through skits, posters, and conversations, students can safeguard their families and communities from these invisible invaders.

  
  

• 🔑 Knowledge into Action: Learning alone is not enough. Real impact comes when awareness is combined with consistent healthy practices and preventive care, turning knowledge into meaningful change.

Closing Thought 🌟

“Invisible Invaders” was more than a project—it became a mirror reflecting the hidden dangers in our communities and a call to action for change. Our students stepped up to question harmful habits, spread awareness, and model healthy choices, proving that even young voices can spark transformation. Through this journey, they learned that prevention, responsibility, and conscious choices can protect not only themselves but entire families and neighbourhoods.

At Ashraya, under our Health Program, we’ve been working tirelessly to nurture children into aware, responsible individuals while spreading health awareness across communities. The program emphasizes both physical and mental wellbeing, ensuring students understand the importance of healthy habits and preventive care from an early age.

Call to Action ✊

Prevention is power, and together, we can defeat the invisible invaders lurking in our communities. By rejecting harmful habits, adopting healthier lifestyles, and prioritizing both physical and mental wellbeing, we can build a future free from preventable diseases like cancer.

👉 Stand with these young changemakers. Support Ashraya in empowering children to become advocates of health, creating stronger, healthier, and more aware communities.

Contribute here: ashrayainitiative.org/donate.