Dr Maya is busy 365 days a year. Her commitment never stops, be it with her family or her career. She is the head of Prophylaxis Foundation, which is an organisation run by a dedicated group of professionals who voluntarily work towards educating the masses on various health issues. The foundation operates mainly through school students.
Prophylaxis started in 2008. When it began its operation, there were just 60 members in it. Now there are 700 and includes professionals from different walks of life -- social workers, activists, lawyers and engineers, apart from doctors.
“The idea for such an organisation came up during the monsoon of 2008 which was accompanied by many seasonal diseases. This caused panic among the people. The need to educate them on these diseases became a necessity. Thus was born Prophylaxis,” said Dr Maya, Assistant Professor at the Micro Biology Department, Kozhikode Medical College.
Prophylaxis operates mainly through schools and students. “The main reason why we operate through schools is because social changes can be brought about easily in students,” she said.
The organisation spreads its message by publishing books and notices on various diseases which are distributed in schools in all the 14 districts of the state. “School students regularly read the foundation’s notices on diseases and their remedies in school assemblies,” she added.
According to Maya, to build up an orderly society, the younger generation should be given proper sex education to understand the biological changes that they are going through.
“To survive in a highly tempting society, luring the young minds towards its fancies, students should be given adequate knowledge on what changes they are going through while they are growing up. This is the responsibility of both the teachers and parents. Sex education should be a compulsory subject in high school and higher secondary classes,” the spirited woman said.