SOS Children's Villages, Shillong

Orientation Visit to
SOS CHILDREN'S VILLAGE, SHILLONG
P. O. Umiam, Ri-Bhoi District, Meghalaya – 793 103

 Orientation Date : 9th September 2011 (Friday)
 Time: 01.30 PM to 03.00 P.M.

SOS Children's Villages is active in 133 countries and territories. The variety of this international work is brought together by the umbrella organisation SOS Children's Villages International, which unites all of the autonomous national association. SOS Children's Villages was founded in Austria by Hermann Gmeiner; first SOS Children's Village built in Imst, Austria in 1949.

The Shillong SOS Village

It is no less than a developed and well maintain village.

SOS Children's Village Shillong was opened in 1999. It is situated about 12 km from the city of Shillong on a green hill covered with pine trees.

SOS Children's Village Shillong consists of twelve family houses, staff accommodation, a multi-purpose hall and the necessary administration and service area. It has its own playground where the children can romp around and have fun. The sick bay at the SOS Children's Village provides basic medical care for the inhabitants of the village. A building with a ground floor and 1st floor consists of several bed rooms with a huge kitchen and a common room.

San-Ker Academy & Research Centre, Shillong

Orientation Visit to
SAN-KER ACADEMIC & RESEARCH CENTRE
Mawroh, Shillong – 793008, Meghalaya

 Orientation Date : 9th September 2011 (Friday)
 Time: 10.30 AM to 12.00 Noon

About San-Ker

IGNOU Regional Centre Shillong has a network of 67 learner support centres all over the State of Meghalaya. Out of these 18 are Regular Study Centres, 37 Programme Study Centres and 12 Special Study Centres.1

There is only one Mental Health Facility in the private sector. This is SANKER Hospital situated at Mawroh, Shillong 793008, Meghalaya which is about 1km away from Shillong Golf Course and can be reached by vehicle as the pitched road reach up to the hospital. The hospital is beautifully situated in large area surrounded by pine trees in the very congenial condition.

The Founder Father of this hospital is Dr. Sandy Syiem who himself is a reputed Psychiatrist. He himself administrates and monitors the hospital passionately.

New Hope Centre, Shillong

Orientation Visit to
KJPA: NEW HOPE CENTRE
(Counselling Cum De-Addiction)
IGP, Central Ward, Shillong – 793 001, Meghalaya

 Orientation Date : 8th September 2011 (Thrusday)
 Time: 01.00PM to 03.00PM

Nature of Works:

Counselling, detoxification, therapy session, awareness, training, referrals, seminars, workshops etc

Brief History

The Foundation Stone of the New Hope Centre of Khasi Jiantia Presbyterian Assembly was laid by Dr. Dongkupar Roy, the then Hon’ble Chief Minister of Meghalaya on August 20, 2008. Mr Henry, the counsellor told us that this de-addiction centre was initially started as a counselling centre in 1994, They started accommodating inmates from December 1999.

Workers

Beside the centre co-ordinator, the New Hope Centre currently employ three counsellors, a nurse, one doctor, four yoga therapists and a residential counsellor.

Old Age Home: Sister of Charity, Shillong

Orientation Visit to
SISTERS OF CHARITY - MERCY HOME
(Home for the Aged)
Demthring – 793 021, Shillong , Meghalaya

• Orientation Date : 8th September 2011 (Thursday)
• Time: 10.00AM to 12.00Noon

Introduction: The Old Age Home was constructed by the Archdiocese of Shillong in the year 1973 and is under the direct administration of Sister of Charity, Shillong, having its headquarters in Guwahati – the provincial.

Mercy Home, which has transformed many lives, has grown to be the abode for numerous destitute and poor senior citizens of India who have no one to look after them. Though the total intake of the inmate was fixed at 60 numbers, at present, there are 46 inmates at home. It has showered them all the love and the care they deserve at this age. Many new friendships have been made among the inmates of this home and a close attachment has been established. They stay together and pass the valued moments of their lives with their fellow acquaintances. The ages of the inmates range from 65 to more than a hundred year old. The oldest inmate, Mrs Saina Narati (106), a lady from Nangdong in Ri bhoi District recounts that she has no other choice, but to spend the last part of her life in the Mercy Home as she has no children, no relatives who would look after her. The inmates are very happy with the food, the love and the care they get from the Mercy Home. They also said that they give helping hand to keep the environment clean. Some even said that they get motherly love and care from the people who are taking care of them.

Social Service Centre, Shillong

About the Agency: Social Service Centre

Social Service Centre (SSC) is the social action wing of the Catholic Archdiocese of Shillong, Meghalaya and works towards the integrated development of all sections of the society irrespective of caste, ethnicity and religion with special emphasis on the tribal groups and other vulnerable communities operating mainly in East Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi districts of Meghalaya. It is a non-profit, non-political, secular voluntary organisation registered under the Meghalaya Societies Registration Act XII of 1983 (SR/SSC-8/88 of 1988) owned and managed by the Catholic Archdiocese of Shillong. Social Service Centre was started in January 1988 and its office is located at Archbishop’s House, Laitumkrah, Shillong.

SSC is an organisation with a motto of “Renewing vision, enriching life” with the vision of visualising a holistically developed tribal society, which is directing its own destiny and living in harmony with all people and the natural environment. The organisation’s mission is to bring about a qualitative change among vulnerable groups especially of tribal society (at family, village and society level) through animations; formation of people’s organisation and advocacy.” The organisation was set up with the objectives, such as; to devise schemes and projects towards fostering qualitative education amongst the underprivileged community. To mobilize community towards disaster preparedness and mitigation to undertake programmes aimed at imparting better and qualitative leadership and to build a healthy community by sensitizing them on environmental and gender issues also to look for convergence with collaborating agencies.

Unemployment in India

Introduction

Unemployment (or joblessness), as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively looked for work within the past four weeks.[1] The unemployment rate is a measure of the prevalence of unemployment and it is calculated as a percentage by dividing the number of unemployed individuals by all individuals currently in the labour force.

India is a developing economy, the nature of unemployment, therefore, sharply differs from the one that prevails in industrially advanced countries. Lord Keynes diagnosed unemployment in advance economies to be the result of a deficiency of effective demand. It implied that in such economies machines become idle and demand for labour falls because the demand for the products of industry is no longer there. Thus, Keynesian remedies of unemployment concentrated on measures to keep the level of effective demand sufficiently high so that the economic machine does not slacken the production of goods and services.[2]

Child Soldier

~ T. Zamlunmang Zou @ Pupu Zou

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

“Over 20 million children of conflict are out of school. Education is often forgotten.”

~ Angelina Jolie, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

A child soldier is anyone under the age of eighteen who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity. Child soldiers are boys and girls who fight in adult wars, missing out on the safe childhood that many of us take for granted, but to which every child is entitled according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.^[1] 

According to the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers:  “Child soldiers perform a range of tasks including participation in combat, laying mines and explosives; scouting, spying, acting as decoys, couriers or guards; training, drill or other preparations; logistics and support functions, portering, cooking and domestic labor; and sexual slavery or other recruitment for sexual purposes.” ^[2]

I Mou Vanken Dan Uh (Our Dowry System)

India gam sunga kolte’n a ta nei chiengua ana mullit mama uleh ana ki khuul jel jel na zieh uh tanu – ta numei nei zieh ahi nuom leng hi. Bang zieh a tanu nei zieh a tam bang silte pieng adiei? Tuni’a i gen nuom mou vanken i chi te zieh a hi nuom deu hi. Kolte’n atanu te uh a haah chiengun a nei a lam teng uh seng in innkal kitawi jen in pang vevaw uhi. Tuaban ah a tanu uh kiteenpi ding ten a dei jaja uh ana iih thei jel uhi. Tuatham lou in tanu nei te’n a du, a dei u zong lei ngam vevaw lou in a mu sun sun uh a kim khat a tanu te uh haahna ding in saving ana bawl vevaw uhi.

What's Wrong With Sadar Hills District Demand?

~ T. Zamlunmang Zou @ Pupu Zou

It has been more than 30 years since the demand for creation of Sadar Hills as a full-fleged district started way back in the early 1970s. Two outstanding records have been created out of this demand. Th Lupheng, a Social Worker from Saikul opine that: "One, the people of Sadar Hills created history for demanding a mere district for more than 30 years without a break. Secondly, the State Government of Manipur too created history for putting a genuine demand of the people on hold for than 30 years". I think the State Govt. is taking pride for being able to suppress and neglect a people’s movement for a mere district for such a long period. A good job indeed! but a shameful pride. It is high time for the State govt. to come out with valid reasons to justify for its act of suppression and negligence of a genuine & rightful demand of the people. In the past, we came across with the State govt. racking up some ‘not-much-important’ matters like the boundary issue, consensus issue etc. etc... If these issues are the real hindrances to the inauguration of Sadar Hills as a full-fleged district? Or any other else? Let’s see how far the so-called problems (as stated by the State govt.) have any merit worth consideration or not.

A Tribute to my Beloved Father on Father's Day

As I was thinking about writing a tribute to my Dad, I thought — How can I say a few words that do justice to all of the years of love and strength that Dad gave me? I hope that the real tribute to Dad will be the actions of my lives — that I am a testament to the love and lessons that he instilled in me!

As I’ve been thinking about my Dad this past week, finally coming to grips with the inevitable, I thought “How can I tell a story of my Dad that conveys the message of what his love and strength has meant to me. Like my Dad, I guess I’ll do it by telling a story whose underlying message teaches the lesson of his life to me.

Had my dad been alive, how will the world looks;

Had my dad been alive, how will I look at the world.

Had my dad been alive, where would I be;

Had my dad been alive, what would I do?

Oh, Dad! I wish you could have hold your life till today,

Oh, Dad! I wish I have a dear daddy to be my side;

Oh, Dad! When I see young kids holding and running by their dad’s side,

I wish you are still alive to hold me tight.