Historical Background

North-East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS) was founded in 1985 by a group of young enterprising people of Jorhat, led and guided by Mr. Girin Chetia (Present Director cum Chief Functionary) at the village of Dhekiakhowa. Their dream was to work together for greater impact at the grassroot development stage to reduce disaster risks, poverty and social exclusion. Girin Chetia, being a development activist, who was associated earlier and experienced for a number of years with National Institute for bank Management (NIBM), Peoples Institute for Development and Training (PIDT), Society For Rural Urban & Tribal Initiative (SRUTI) and Oxfam India Trust, together with his volunteers group felt the need to establish a social organisation which will work in the affected areas for socially excluded families and marginalized communities for their holistic capacity development across the region.

Established in 1985, NEADS is one of Assam’s oldest and pioneer Non-Government Organisation in the field of development. As a registered organisation under Societies Registration Act 1860, NEADS began to work since the year 1987. During the early years, the organisation started its intervention in the geographically remote and vulnerable pockets of the district in the areas of awareness generation and capacity building on livelihood opportunities, mobilization of affected communities to participate in decisions which affect their lives and strengthening traditional flood coping mechanism among the peoples of Brahmaputra plains to mitigate miseries of recurrent flood.

Since 1998 onwards, NEADS began to look beyond from its existing based area of Jorhat and expanded the remit to support development work in other districts of Upper Assam, and also responded to humanitarian crisis caused by emergency flood many a times since its inception. The organisation currently have its programmatic intervention in five districts of Upper Assam region and which has impacted the lives of many individuals, groups and communities by rendering services in the aspects of social and economic development. Today, with its presence in more than five hundred villages of vulnerable pockets, NEADS is working in the thematic focus on Disaster Risk Reduction and Humanitarian Response, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH), Vulnerable Livelihood, Education and Children, Gender Justice & Development in its intervention in its operational areas.

Vision, Mission & Core Objectives

Our Vision

To Visualize A Society Free From Poverty, Inequality, Injustice And Social Exclusion.

Mission

Promoting equitable social structures, connecting people to resources and services within the social environment which can offer people security and development while upholding their dignity.

The Core Objectives

• Strengthening coping mechanism of disaster prone community to identify, assess and reduce the risks of disaster. Also aim to reduce socio-economic vulnerabilities to disaster as well as dealing with the environmental and other hazards that trigger them.
• To establish and access quality education for the growth and development of children, enable and empower them to be agents of social change.
• Empower women in eliminating gender-based violence to promote equality and expanding women opportunities in decision making, promoting women political rights as well as participation and improve women life skill education.
• To establish and promote Community Based Institution and Peoples Organisations, develop leadership to enable communities and enlightenment of their participation to sustain efforts in development work.
• To increase livelihoods opportunities for small and marginal farmers through sustainable agriculture and livelihood programmes, improve market access of the producers and develop a market-led production system.

Registration and Legal Status

Affiliated Institution

Alakesh Chetia Memorial Art & Cultural Centre

Since inception in the year 1998, NEADS is associated in imparting various extracurricular activities such as Art, Craft and other cultural skills through its affiliate institute Alakesh Chetia Memorial Art & Cultural Centre to the children and youths of the area. The classes are being held on every Saturday and Sunday in a week round the year regularly.

Sanmilita Nari Adhikar Suraksha Manch

A women-centric people’s organization working to fight the gender gap in the community