Vision

To become the leading youth-led movement tackling preventable diseases through education and awareness.

Mission

PEYAM will work with students and teachers across academic institutions to:

• 1) Focus on the importance of public health within the larger community.
• 2) Collaborate with school children and university students to improve understanding of diseases and the importance of prevention at the individual and household level.
• 3) Create a youth force of student ambassadors to effectively disseminate prevention-focused public health information.

Introduction

Project ECHO Youth Ambassadors Movement (PEYAM) was founded by Dr. Asad Choudhry in 2017 to engage students in combating Viral Hepatitis, a preventable disease that has grown into a silent epidemic in Pakistan. Home to nearly 20 million cases of Hepatitis B and C, Pakistan accounts for about 10% of the global patient count. Functioning under the umbrella of the PARSA trust (a registered non-profit organization in Pakistan), PEYAM creates greater awareness regarding preventable diseases at a grass-root level. We train and utilize youth ambassadors to deliver engaging informational messages to students, that broaden and enhance their knowledge about these preventable diseases, aged 7-11 years in working class communities through numerous awareness activities. PEYAM has worked with nationally-acclaimed writer, including Mr.Musharraf Ali Farooqi, to create accessible story-telling sessions to educate and disseminate information surrounding hepatitis and its prevention. Through greater youth involvement and engagement, PEYAM aims to kick-start a global movement where high school students take charge of spreading important public-health messages within their respective communities. PEYAM – Project ECHO Youth Ambassadors Movement

Creating Awareness through

• 1) Storytelling
• 2) Board games
• 3) Theatre
• 4) Incentive based debating competition and quizzes
• 5) Drawing and Painting

Outcomes

PEYAM’s novel story-telling mechanisms creates a relatable and engaging atmosphere which ensures improved learning and retention. The messages imparted by our trainers are then carried forward via informal conversations to previously inaccessible under-served households. Such information could improve awareness, hygiene, and decrease the spread of diseases in vulnerable communities.

Taking PEYAM Further

Members of the PEYAM community are stepping up to make this existing model expand internationally, by increasing the number of partners and youth ambassadors to improve our global outreach, and incorporating a wider variety of diseases and trainings that target more specific audiences.

Structure:

Our Projects: