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Starting
out of a small thatched one room office
within the premises of
Shanti Sadhana Ashram, located in the serene
precincts of Shantivan, Voluntary Health
Association started its work towards making
its mandate of "making health a reality
for the people of Assam" come true.
A
few forward thinking and concerned citizens
of the region,each
a dedicated voluntary worker/social activist
in his/her own right, felt the need to create
a health movement in the region so as to
promote the vital philosophy of health for
non-health and to intiate  voluntary
organizations, individuals, womens organizations,
CBOs etc. into working in the area of community
health. This was in the year 1989 when most
of the NGOs were either Youth Clubs or Mahila
Samities.
This
group of like minded persons initially went
from place to place within the state, met
people in the community at large, met other
forward thinking individuals, fellow  Gandhians
and spoke of the importanceof orienting
the voluntary organizations in the region
on incorporating health interventions as
an important aspect of their work.
Experiences
and lessons learnt along the way, showed
us that as an entity with a limited number
of people in the team and with limited resources
it was going to be an arduous journey. Besides
"making  health
a reality" was a mission and a mission
needed a broader canvas and more and more
committed individuals, groups and organizations
to join the holistic health movement in
the region.
Thus
VHA of Assam, which had by then registered
as a non-profit making organization under
the Societies Registration Act of 1860 started
out on a hitherto unexplored area of networking
with grassroot
level and other voluntary organizations
towards strengthening and consolidating
its mandate of making the holistic health
movement a peoples' movement.
VHA
of Assam now works towards its objectives
and mandate through a network of 100+ member
organizations and 5 Nodal Agencies located
in remote, interior and difficult areas
of Assam.
 It
has also been to a great extent successful
in establishing and carrying forward such
a network, but in the process has also been
able to build up organizations to a level
of credible reliability, expertise and professionalism
in their own respective geographical locations/areas
of work.
Over
the years VHA of Assam has emerged as a
voluntary organization
of credibility and repute which has been
successful in creating a niche for itself
in the developmental sector as a pioneering
organization working towards a holistic
approach to community health guided in the
process, by the primary health care approach.
Aims
and Objectives :
 »Promotion
of Health for All in all its totality ie.
social, physical, psychological and environmental.
»Promoting
community health and human rights related
to the provision and distribution of health
services.
»Participation
in all activities that pertain to promotion,
preservation and improvement of health.
»Promotion
of awareness and education of people on
matters related to health and hygiene.
»Working
towards improvement of the socio-economic
status of women through health interventions.
 »Implementing
all acitivities of the Association and meeting
the objectives of the organization irrespective
of region, caste, religion, language or
community.
Main
Areas of Intervention :
»Reproductive
and Child Health
»Indian
Systems of Medicine
»Networking
»Capacity
Building and Skill Development
»Advocacy
and Liasoning
»Health
interventions and relief and rehabilitation
work during emergencies like natural/man
made disasters, epidemic break out etc.
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