Top to Toe, as the name indicates, addresses all aspects of health and rights of the target audience, (children between the ages of 12 and 17 years), by creating illustrated booklets that they can take back with them after they finish with the interactive health sessions by Nalamdana. So as part of the first phase, this project has identified the most pressing topics: Basic Hygiene, Child Safety, Nutrition, Puberty, Reproductive Health and Future Goals.

In many field interventions, once the funded program is over, there is often no material left with the target audience to remind them of the issues discussed or learnt. Most often they rely on their own memories to remind them. Over several months or years, issues get confused, and the information retained is inaccurate or even wrong. The "Top to Toe" series of booklets aims to serve as a reminder. Simple illustrations that help them recall and also use the materials as a resource, to educate their peers over time.

The development of these booklets follows Nalamdana's philosophy of audience participation, where the booklet illustrations and layout evolves from interactive workshops with the target audience. Young girls and boys (age group 12 to 17 years), from different socio-economic backgrounds were introduced to health sessions that concern them, through interactive games and informative education sessions. These are followed by arts and crafts workshops to help them brainstorm and develop the images and messages for each booklet.

Using the visuals that they create, a professional book designer put together the booklets.

These booklets are then shared with the students who helped design them as well as a fresh group of school children for whom these health sessions are conducted. The feedback from them is recorded and then the booklets are finalized and a fixed number of copies are printed for use in the field. In future years, more copies will be printed for other organizations and schools to distribute when working on these issues with their students.

This was a one year project from May 2010 to April 2011. The interactive workshops commenced in July 2010, and the first set of draft booklets to field test should be ready in 2011. After field testing in 2011, the final versions will be printed.

The outcome will help in building up Nalamdana's training tool kit for children, by children. (See other materials like Kuyilum Mayilum audio cd and Penin Perumai flip chart story on puberty)