NOTE ON THE MODE OF COMMEMORATING THE 25TH YEAR

This note shares some of the ideas and plans that were proposed by CHC and SOCHARA (society governing CHC) for meaningfully commemorating the 25th year of CHC.  We had a very comprehensive, nostalgic and enthusiastic jubilee commemoration on the 6th of December, 2008. See Silver jubilee section for reports on the event and publications released on that day.

1. Silver  Jubilee Day – (6th December 2008)

On 6th December 2008 (Saturday) we plan to bring together all CHC team members, society members, associates, partners, friends, fellows and well wishers for a day of celebrating  Community Health and the CHC Journey.  We will celebrate 6th December, 2008 (Saturday) as the day to celebrate the ‘Communities’ with its diversity and plurality, vibrancy and its hope towards ‘well-being’. The theme guiding us towards this day is ‘Celebrating Communities and Health’.  In the context of divisive forces that divide communities we strongly believe building communities and celebrating diversities is the most important step to safeguard ‘well-being’ of the communities. We hope to fill the day with cultural songs, dances and music from various subaltern communities.

2. A Community Health Fellow travelers get together – (4th & 5th December  2008)

From 4th to 5th December we plan a get- together  all the fellows / interns  and fellow travelers in community health who have spent short and long term fellowships / internships with us – both formal, flexible and informal ones. The theme will be “Community Health Journeys” and we hope to listen, enjoy and learn from the rich, diverse and exciting journeys of all those who join us for these days.  CHC has been a meeting place; a starting point ; a reflection point; in the midst of a journey; a sort of community health ‘sarai’ ( Inn).

3. Launch of Centre for Public Health and Equity:

During the Silver Jubilee Year we are launching a small, new centre called the ‘Centre for Public Health and Equity’ (CPHE). This centre coordinated by Thelma will provide an opportunity for many senior members of the SOCHARA and CHC associates to be involved with health policy action and public health education and research initiatives that are evolving, as part of our efforts to engage and try to influence the mainstream. Ravi will begin to coordinate a series of publications towards establishing a ‘new public health’ based on experiences and contacts with the health movement in India and abroad.      

4. Exhibition and Jubilee Publications on the CH Journey from 1984 - 2008

We plan an exhibition and a jubilee publication on Community Health journey from 1984 to 2008. If you would like to contribute a short reflection, a memoir, some photographs, a poem, or any short creative contribution, especially if CHC and its work have been in any way supportive, encouraging, inspiring, motivating or affirming of your work and your community health action, then please send us your contributions at the earliest.

5. CHC website – towards an alternative learning centre.

The CHC website will undergo some changes this year with the development of a web based learning section, and some jubilee compilations and updates. We have been so busy promoting the ‘community health paradigm’ and the ‘peoples health movement’ that our efforts at updating the website have lagged behind. We have a jubilee resolve to tackle this continuing lacunae. Keep watch and send us comments and suggestions from time to time.

6. Mainstreaming of the Social Paradigm into the teaching and medical institutions: A plan has been made to write an alternative text book basing on the experiences of CHC & PHM and on the social paradigm of health to be mainstreamed into the medical education.

Finally the transition phase of CHC which began in 2006 is now over and the two units of SOCHARA  are now functional.

CHC Team:

Premdas (Coordinator), Rakhal, Sukanya, Sudhamani, Vinay, Ameer, Shalini, Thelma, Ravi, Victor, Maria, Pushpa,  Amarnath, Mahadevswamy, James, Joseph,  Hari and Kamalamma.                                                 

Contact information:

Community Health Cell (Ph & Fax: 080-25531518,25525372)

E. Premdas, Coordinator, premdas@sochara.org

R. Sukanya, sukanya@sochara.org

Rakhal Gaitonde, subharakhal@gmail.com

Sudhamani N, sudhamani@sochara.org

Vinay Viswanatha, vvinay@gmail.com

Ameer Khan, shabanaameer2006@gmail.com

Shalini  Arvindan, shaliniarvindan@gmail.com

Victor Fernandes, Administrative Officer, admin@sochara.org

Centre for Public Health and Equity (Ph: 080-41280009)

Thelma Narayan, CPHE coordinator, thelma@sochara.org ;

Ravi Narayan,Community Health Advisor, CPHE/SOCHARA chcravi@gmail.com

Mathew Alex : Secretary to Dr. Ravi Narayan - mathew.alex127@gmail.com

Juned Kamal- Research and Training Assistant -xs2juned@gmail.com

Deepak Kumaraswamy-  Research and Training Assistant- kumaraswamy.deepak@gmail.com

Incidentally if you want to reach all of us in both units you can mark the communication to  techteam@sochara.org