Our Correspondent
Kohima, July 24 (EMN): The Family Planning Association of India (FPAI) celebrated seventy years of volunteerism on its 70th foundation day on Tuesday, in Kohima. The FPAI is a voluntary movement that works for the cause of ‘sexual and reproductive health and rights for all’ (SRHR).
Helena Yepthomi, president of the FPAI’s Nagaland unit, spoke at the occasion. She said that the commitment of volunteers is the basis on which FPA India was founded. This continues to be a major source of the association’s strength and influence, she said.
“A volunteer, in FPA India, shares the association’s mission, vision and values and offers time, knowledge, skills and experience to further the objectives of the association. Volunteers do so with the aim of making a difference to the community and improving the sexual and reproductive health and well-being of the people, especially the poor, marginalised, socially excluded and underserved,” she said.
To further the cause of the SRHR, she said the volunteers should acknowledge sexual and reproductive health and rights as an integral part of human life. It ensures sexual and reproductive rights for all and includes a commitment to individual respect, freedom and protection from harm, Yepthomi said. The president pledged to unite, deliver, and perform better in the future.
Also, counsellor at FPAI, Ville Rhetso said that the Nagaland unit was started in 1977 by likeminded people who were concerned for the welfare of the poor. They work also for mother and child health issues, he added.
Over the years, the branch has been expanding its work to include programmes covering maternal and child survival, male involvement, adolescent, and young people, sexual and reproductive health including family planning, HIV/AIDS, gender inequities and human rights, among others.
