FORTNIGHTLY BULLETIN OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF GAUHATI SOUTH

R.I. PresidentIan H. S. Riseley

SecretaryRtn. Rajesh Kumar Bhatra

Rotary International District-3240, India

Dist. GovernorRtn. Sunil Saraf

PresidentRtn. Sweta Pegu

Rotary

(RI Theme, 2017-18)

UDAYANUDAYAN

Date : 11 May, 2018VOL. XXXXVI NO. 21

We meet every Friday at 6.30 p.m. in Summer and at 6.00 p.m. in Winter at Hotel Rajdhani Regency, Dispur Last Gate, Guwahati-781006

Editor's Column

Rtn. Manjusri Baruah

“We cannot talk about our future without talking about our children They are our future” were

the words of Past Rotary International President James L Lacy 1998 -99. Perhaps it was

these words in mind that prompted Rotary International's structured Programme—Interact,

Rotaract, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. Thus many Rotary activities mainly focus on

development of young people up to the age of 30. When we think of today's youth we

envision a strong and a healthy generation, young people who can promote social values.

As Rotarians we are to keep an eye towards the young generation---we can extend a

helping hand towards their education, open up scopes for their employment. Skill

development, Entrepreneurship, Sports, Health are the different fields into which Rotarians

are looking into. Rotary aims and encourages young adults through leadership

development activities, to provide innovative and practical opportunities to assist and

motivate young people in our society to acquire learning and life skills. Rotary Clubs are

very often seen to be associated with some schools and these school students may be

recommended for many Rotary service programmes. As students come out to engage

themselves in various service projects, it is indeed very heartening to see that it not only

helps them in their personal development but also develops leadership qualities and social

skills. Moreover it also helps in forming their own values and moral standards.

Rotarians always focus on making a positive difference in our community and it is for this

reason that young people are being encouraged to form Interact and Rotaract Clubs so that

their youthful energy is channelized in a right manner. They in turn will be future Rotarians.

It is through our youth that the future of Rotary is preserved. Ahealthy youth force engaged

in healthy practices, are the harbingers of Peace sans conflict of any kind. Hence, the

absolute necessity of harnessing this youthful energy and utilising it for all the right reasons.

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1999 Weekly Meeting of Rotary Club ofGauhati South on 4 May, 2018

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The President called the meeting called to order.

The NationalAnthem was rendered by all present.

The President welcomed everyone present.

Rtn. Arun Ch. Upadhyay and Ann Champa werewished on the occasion of their anniversary on 7 May.

Rtn. Rabindra Nath Mazumder and Ann Amiya werewished heartily on the occasion of their anniversary on1 May.

The President announced the following:

a) the 7th 'HTFI" at the Assam Down town University,Panikhaiti on 5 May.

b) the starting of the District Grants project at RajendraNarain M.E. School, Hatigaon under thesupervision of Rtn. Prasanta Das.

c) the ongoing work of the Toilet construction at theclub's Happy School, Rajdhani M.E. School.

The President requested members to donate at least100$ to the TRF.

The President informed the house about the May Dayobservance at Atma Nirbhar on 1 May. She alsoproposed members to contribute towards financial aidtoAtma Nirbhar, the vision of late Rtn. Kaushik Das.

The proposal was welcomed by all.

The President acknowledged the contribution of Rs.5000/ by Dr. Udayan Barua of Downtown Hospitaltowards our Happy school.

Rtn. Atanu Choudhury then made a wonderfullydetailed presentation titled 'Bangladesh: a pictorialglimpse'.

The Officiating Secretary Rtn. Prashanta Goswamiannounced the presence of 27 Rotarians, 5 Anns, 2Rotarylets and 1 guest. TRF collection stood atRs.460/.

The vote-of-thanks was delivered by Rtn. RenuGoswami.

Fellowship was offered by Rtn.Amrit Pal Singh.

1998 Weekly Meeting of Rotary Club ofGauhati South on 27 April, 2018

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The 1998 Weekly Meeting Of Rotary Club Of GauhatiSouth was held on 27 April 2018 at our regular venueThe Rajdhani Regency .

The President called the meeting to order at 7PM.followed by rendering of the NationalAnthem.

Guests were welcomed. Dr.Anjana Goswami, Director,Ashadeep, some children from Ashadeep along withtheir guardians were welcomed.

Anniversary wishes were conveyed to Rtn. ArmanAhmed and Ann Mahmuda. Birthday wishes wereconveyed to Rtn. Swapanjyoti Sarma and Rtn. SubhasGoswami.

The President thanked all members for the success ofthe Quiz and speech competition on 19 April atDowntown University for Paul Harris's Birthday.

The 6 HTFI with Rtn. Swapan Jyoti Sarma and Rtn.Paramesh Dev Choudhury as resource persons heldon23 rd March 2018 at Narengi AnchalikMahavidyalaya was also a very successful programmeand the President expressed satisfaction.

ARural RYLAprogramme was proposed to be held at aschool near Khetri on 13 May 2018.ThePresidentrequested all members to be present.

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The president introduced Dr.Anjana Goswami, DirectorAshadeep and requested her to make herPresentation.

Dr. Anjana Goswami delivered a very interesting talk onAshadeep, the Mental Health Society and how all thededicated workers of the society try to rehabilitate thementally challenged persons and their untiring effortsthat they are taking to bring them back to the mainstream of society.

As a goodwill gesture the President offered a smallamount of Rs. 17,000 to Dr. Anjana Goswami forAshadeep. The amount was contributed by themembers of the Club.

There was a very interesting programme by the childrenof Ashadeep entertaining all present with their Songs,Dances, Music.Their wonderful presentationimpressed all the members.

The Secretary reported the presence of 25 Rotarians,7Annes, 4 Rotarylets, 15 Guests and the TRF Collectionwas Rs. 180.

Fellowship was offered by Rtn. Biswadip Barooah.

After an effusive Vote of Thanks by Rtn. Tarun Bordoloi,the meeting was adjourned at 8.45 PM.

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Ashadeep has been a beacon of hope in the lives of destitute and abandonedmentally challenged persons and it has provided them not merely with a home buta haven. The small write up on Ashadeep is only a very brief study of this Mentalhealth Society and this shall reveal that Ashadeep fills a vacuum in the area ofmental health.

Initiated in the year 1996, Ashadeep was established with the vision of achieving a life of better quality for persons withmental disorder and their families. During this time rehabilitation services pertaining to mental health were very muchlimited in the region. Since its inception, every intervention facilitated by the organization has evolved keeping in viewthe 'contextual needs' of persons with mental illness and individuals with intellectual disability and associated disorders.The core area of Ashadeep consists of being a service provider in mental health interventions for one and all in thecommunity. A brief description of various interventions by Ashadeep which covers directly or indirectly the abovementioned groups of stakeholders are as follows-

for individuals with intellectual disability and associated disorders and personsrecovering from mental illness.At this centre, individual and group therapy is provided to individuals recovering frommental illness and lessons imparted on life skills and other social skills and special and conventional education tothose who are mentally challenged. For the youngsters in the centre, sports is given special emphasis, all thestudents have been registered under Special Olympics Bharat andAssam MountaineeringAssociation.

The prime objective of thisproject – 'Navachetana' is to provide care, treatment and rehabilitation measures to these women and to eventuallyre-integrate them with their families. Psychiatric and other medical treatment and care; Psychological and othersocial rehabilitation services are provided at the 'Navachetana' residential facilities by a team of qualified personnelincluding psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, social workers, and trained health care staff. Till date 662 womenhave been provided with these services of which 623 have been reintegrated in various parts of India includingArunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa, Jharkhand, Gujarat,Andhra Pradeshand Karnataka.

for Homeless Men with Mental Illness

To extend mental health interventions to homeless men with mental illness Ashadeep in collaboration with SocialWelfare Department, Government ofAssam has initiated rehabilitation home for homeless men with mental illness inBamunigaon, Assam since July 2013. Along with provision for admission, care, treatment and reintegration of thesemen, livelihood generation activities are also a part of this intervention. So far 178 men have been rescued andadmitted at this home out of which 145 have been reintegrated with their families in various places.

s in which along with free distribution of psychiatric medicines and consultation,capacity building of local NGOs was also undertaken.

undertaken once a week within the city. This clinic benefits not only past residents ofNavachetana but also caters to socially, economically and geographically marginalized population residing withinthe city as free consultation on mental health is provided by a psychiatrist and other trained staff members ofAshadeep. So far 1213 patients have been registered in this OPD.

Ashadeep has been providing institutional care to homeless persons with mental illness for more than a decade.Although the recovered patients are taken back home to re-unite with their families, about 10% of the residents cannotbe re-integrated for various reasons. Till now, such women and men were living under the institutional care in spite ofrecovering sufficiently and becoming functional. Since January 2017,Ashadeep initiated the 'shared Housing' programby doing away with the Navachetana (Rehab) facility and setting up 6 independent homes by paving way from theinstitutional pattern of rehabilitation to a more inclusive community setting. Each 'shared home' accommodating 5residents together with a 'health worker', five for women and one for men, three each in rural and urban settings.

The residents in these homes do not have any restrictions in movement or interactions, they decide on what to eat, wear andmany of them are employed in different settings. By the end of first five months, we have seen tremendous changes in thefunctional level of most of the residents. Both amongst those whose disability levels are higher and the more functional onesand also between those who seemto be long staycasesand the oneswho would in all probabilitygo home soon.

The observations indicate the efficacy of the 'shared housing' concept. Economic independence is important for allpeople, more for those who are not with their families. Presently the different Ashadeep facilities - the Day Rehabcentre, the urban and rural livelihood generation centres , the office, OPD all employ the home residents, a few areemployed outside also.

n Day rehabilitation centre'

Navachetana' Rehabilitation homes for homeless women with mental illness-

UDAYAN Rehabilitation Home

Outreach Mental Health Camp

Outdoor Psychiatric Clinic -

HOME AGAIN – Independent Shared Housing in the community for residents of Navachetana and Udayan.

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Ashadeep- A Mental Health Society

Editor : Rotary Club of Gauhati South, E-mail : manjusribaruah@gmail.com, Mobile : 9864038692Rtn. Manjusri Baruah,

Published by Rotary Club of Gauhati South, Hotel Rajdhani Regency, Dispur Last Gate, Guwahati -6and Printed at Brahmaputra Offset, M.C. Road, Guwahati – 3

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Dr Anjana Goswami Director Ashadeep

Children of Ashadeep entertaining all with their singing , dancing and music recital

Rtn. Jayanta Madhav Baruah wished

Rtn Jayanta Madhav Baruah

as Resource Person in HTFI

Rtn.Swapan Jyoti Sarma

as Resource Person in HTFI Students at the HTFI program

Rtn. Atanu Choudhury with his

presentation on Bangladesh

Rtn.Rabin Mazumdar and Ann Amiyawished for their anniversary Rtn.Subhash Goswami wished