Sampark Sathi Foundation

 - Ria Nisar and Emma Salem Who are India’s ASHA workers? And what are their roles and responsibilities? An accredited social health activist (ASHA) is a community health worker instituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as a part of India's National Rural Health Mission. The Indian MoHFW describes them as ‘’health activist(s) in the community who will create awareness on health and its social determinants and mobilize the community towards local health planning and increased utilization and accountability of the existing health services.’’ The mission started in 2005, and full implementation of the same began in 2012. The long term goal is to have an ASHA in every village in India. There are about 9 lakh ASHA workers operating in the country currently. The role of an ASHA is that of a community level care provider. This includes a mix of tasks: serve as a key communication mechanism between the healthcare system and rural populations and build awareness about health c...

 - Emma Salem “The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” - Maya Angelou Who are the marginalized groups in India? The term ‘marginalization’, literally meaning exclusion, was coined by Robert Ezra Park, in his article, ‘Marginal Man’ in 1928. Marginalized groups are therefore living on the fringes of society, excluded from mainstream communities. India’s society is built on hierarchies. No matter where in India, all things living, from people to social groups, are ranked based on a variety of essential qualities. People are categorized according to caste groups, religion, social class, socioeconomic status and gender. So, which communities are seen as marginalized in India? These include those in the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, women, children, non binary or sexual minorities, Indian Muslims, and so on. In India, these marginalized groups make up the majority of the population. Dalit, a term that symbolizes op...