NECHA BULLETIN JULY 2021

NECHA BULLETIN NORTH EASTERN COMMUNITY HEALTH ASSOCIATION (NECHA) BHOLA BABA PATH, HOUSE NO. 2, SIX MILE, GUWAHATI - 781022, ASSAM VOL - II. NO.7 JULY, 2021 “Balanced Diet is the best Medicine” Editorial Privileged people exploited the less privileged ones to attain their plans, programmes and to their advantage. There was a lot of dissatisfaction and unrest among the people in the field of education and health. There were also sympathy, understanding and willingness from the part of the missionaries to face such situations by establishing schools, health centres, hospitals and dispensaries. It became a charity approach. At present many people make comments that the mission schools and hospitals are exploiting them. Whether there is a bit of truth in it or not, it is an occasion for us to look critically into ourselves and our system. There are also much exploitation taking place by various people, Association and groups in the field of health, education and so on, but they do not claim to be missionary. A time has come for the church to take a nobler path by enabling the people to create leadership among them and enable them to lead their own people more effectively. It is a change from our leadership to people’s leadership. It is promotion of health. Curative health is important, preventive health is more important, promotion of health is most important or of utmost importance. We are chosen and called by Jesus not to be on lookers, bystanders or little wonder workers. Curative health service and relief services especially during calamities and pandemic are needed, very important and unavoidable. It may be time bound and more of temporary nature. Enabling the people to be responsible for their health, education and development is nobler, more permanent and long lasting. Enabling the families, villages and the tribe itself to have healthy pregnant mothers, healthy under five age children will be a great achievement to build up healthy families, church and communities. PLEASE TAP HERE TO TURN

NECHA BULLETIN GOOD HEALTH SAD SITUTATION Priests, Religious, Pastors and village leaders are to be VITAMINS: highly sensitive to such situations where children both born Good health is achieved mainly through good food or and unborn are denied their rights. If we do not solve this balanced diet and through mental and spiritual nourishment. problem, we also become part of building up weaker Vitamins play an important role for good health. communities and a weaker nation. So we have to be Our body needs growth, development and defence. All active and positive in solving this problem. these we get from food especially balanced diet. Defence activity in the body is done mainly by vitamins. PARISH/ RELIGIOUS HEALTH CENTRES Vitamins are important and very much power and Attending only to a few people or villages close to the prevention from infections and sickness. parish or Health Centres is a good thing but not fulfilling our God given duties. The Parish priest and nurse or VITAMINS AND DEFENCE Touring Sisters have to find the ways and means of Vitamin A = Essential for growth and vision. Found in egg, reaching out to all the villages even in the remote areas. vegetables, fish and fish liver oil. We cannot be like the departmental people. We have to Vitamin B = Essential for working of certain enzymes in the arouse our missionary zeal and find the ways and means body. of solving such situations. Vitamin C = Ascorbic Acid essential for healthy tissues. Vitamin D = Found in fish liver oils and animal liver. It is SAMPLE RANDOM SURVEY essential for absorption of nutrients. After a sample survey and study NECHA has understood that: - The Govt. programmes are not reaching to the remote villages. - The children and the pregnant women do not get their rights for Vitamin and deworming tablets. - The Parish Priests and Nurse Sisters have not yet started the programme of reaching out to all the villages within the parish territory to attend to the common ailments with common remedies. - The Parish Pastoral Council and the Catechists have not introduced any such promotion of health programmes. - So far NECHA has not intervened in such programmes in a big way. A NEW VENTURE VITAMIN DEFICIENCY NECHA in collaboration with “Vitamin Angles” is planning Lack of vitamins in the blood create vitamin deficiency. for nutrition interventions by providing commodities and Children and pregnant women may be eating balanced technical assistance. The main aim is to reach out to the diet, but the nutrients and vitamins are lost due to the unreached with the available resources and commodities, presence of parasites or intestine worms, anaemia and so like Vitamin A supplements and deworming tablets for on. So removal of parasites or deworming is necessary. children under the age of 5 and multiple micronutrient Govt. programmes include free distribution of deworming supplements (mms) commonly referred to as multivitamin tablets for children to improve their health. for pregnant women. RANDOM SURVEY BY NECHA According to a random survey and study made by NECHA in the rural areas of North Eastern States, we found that the Govt. personal have not yet reached the remote rural areas. It is a sad situation where the rights of the children and pregnant mothers are denied. PLEASE TAP HERE TO TURN

NECHA BULLETIN VISION HEALTH TIPS The vision of NECHA in this programme is to enable the parish priests and the sisters, catechists and the pastoral GOOD FOOD council and the pastors to attend to the needs of every During the pandemic all became aware of improving child under the age of 5 and every pregnant woman the immunity and immune power. Sufficient quantity of within the parish territory. Parish Priest as the head and food, fruits, meat and fish included in the diet to make leader of the parish, give a momentum and enable others it balanced. to take up the programme. Our food materials from the markets are often MISSION imbalanced. Not only every father and mother but also the family, village and the tribe itself have a MISSION to be - Rice treated with ammonia or such things harm concerned with good health of every unborn child. Every the stomach. unborn child, even from the mothers’ wombs belong to the family, village and the tribe itself. - Meat or fish from markets with ammonia, Each child is to become a healthy God given gift to the urea+, formalin etc are doing harm even to get father, mother, family, village and the tribe. Since every cancer. child is a gift of God to all, there is no reason, justification or right for abortion. Every child in its mother’s womb - Moida, Amul or everyday milk powder as belongs not only to the mother and father but also to all. whitener with carbide, whitener etc increases Looking after the health and protection of the child from taste but slowly kill the people. the moment of conception is also the responsibility of everybody in the tribe. - Market vegetables with so much insecticide or This is a mission given by God to every person to protect preservatives weaken the stomach. every life. It is right of every village and tribe to have Preservatives and insecticides destroy the many healthy mothers and healthy children. Each tribe vitamins and poison the body. needs many healthy members. - For example wash dal 4 times to remove the RECOMMENDATIONS BY NECHA AND VITAMIN milky insecticide and preservatives. ANGLES - Dry chilly from markets are efficiently colored - Vitamins and minerals (multi vitamins) improve and reduce immune power. birth weights and reduce infant mortality at 6 months of age. - Most of the species are treated with poisons preservatives. - Reduce anaemia, night blindness and other symptoms caused by vitamin and mineral - As far as possible wash the market vegetables deficiencies. in salt water. - Support for a healthy immune system. - Buy only alive fish, available in the market. - Promote physical and mental (intellectual) - Broiler chicken do good or harm. Buy local development in infants and mothers. chicken. - Make Mothers give birth to babies with normal - Read or watch mobile or TV and get more weight. knowledge about good food. - Collect Vitamin from the parish dispensary and reach to every pregnant mother irrespective of cast or creed. PLEASE TAP HERE TO TURN

NECHA BULLETIN + NECHA Bulletin is for the health education of the people, especially the youth in the villages. We wish to circulate the Bulletin to all the villages in the North Eastern States. You may give us the WhatsApp No. or Email ID of your people or forward it to them. Those who like to begin Community Organising Programmes in your village may contact your Parish Priest or Nurse Sister or Contact NECHA office directly. Fr. K.C. George, Director, NECHA Bhola Baba Path, House No. 2, Six Mile, Khanapara, Guwahati - 781022, Assam. Mobile: 9678224827 (O), 8974008332 (P) Email: [email protected] Website: nechaindia.org Private Circulation only