Archana Borthakur

Some Lesser Known Facts About Archana Borthakur

• Her childhood in Dergaon village exposed her to the problems faced by children and women in Assam’s rural areas due to the lack of basic facilities.

  

• Archana Borthakur is currently residing in Guwahati, Assam, conducting various social activism related to the social benefit of women, children, and the environment.

• She cleared the 18th Annual All India pre-senior UNESCO information test twice in 1995 and 1996.

• Archana was given a national merit scholarship by the All Assam Students Union for being the topper in High School in 2002.

• From 2007 to 2008, she worked as a sub-editor for a monthly magazine, ‘Saparibar.’ From 2014 to 2016, she worked as an assistant editor for the ‘Mahekiya Anubhuti’ monthly magazine.

• She had worked as a resource faculty at the Assam School of Journalism, Anchoring and Production.

• As an anchor and producer, she worked at the DY365, Television channel, Guwahati from 2008 till 2010. Archana produced and hosted a 159 episodes daily devotional show entitled ‘Prarthana.’ Other shows produced by her include ‘Pathikrit,’ ‘Arunudoi,’ ‘Ekanta Byaktigata,’ ‘Anganar Akash,’ ‘Xuprobhat Axom,’ and  ‘Shreemoyee.’

• Archana produced an international news bulletin entitled ‘Bidesh 365.’ Another news bulletin produced by her was ‘Desh-bidesh.’

• In 2015, she joined as an announcer at the All India Radio, Guwahati, Assam.

• She founded ‘Priyobondhu Bohumukhi Bidyalay’ on 20 November 2015. It is a foundation that works on overall community development.

• She is the founder and managing trustee of ‘Archana Borthakur Educational Trust.’

• In 2016, she launched the ‘Positive Lights’ initiative to support HIV+ orphaned children with the right treatment and care homes, where necessities like food, clothes, and education materials are provided. These are decorated with lights and Rangolis.

  

• She began the ‘Breakfast for a Child’ initiative in 2018 under which nutritious breakfast is provided to around 200+ children daily.

• Archana started the ‘Let Us Talk’ initiative in 2018 to address the topic of menstrual hygiene. It educates adolescent girls about the menstrual cycle and how to manage it. She also distributes sanitary napkins to girls who are unaware and cannot afford to buy them.

  

• In 2018, she led a mission to identify children below the poverty line in the Khetri region, located on Guwahati’s outskirts to distribute basic stationery items like books, bags, and tiffin boxes to them.

• She became the Director of the Assam Development Initiative in 2018.

  

• In July 2019, Archana led the ‘Integrated Program for the Welfare of Women and Children’ under which a non-formal, experiment-based learning centre was opened to educate women and children and prepare them to lead an independent life. Under this, meals and essentials were provided along with the subject education and social interactions.

• In the year 2020, she led a survey project to analyse child labour between 9 to 14 years in Guwahati’s surrounding areas. For this, she took the help of the Guwahati district administration.

• Archana has also led a programme named, ‘Garden Cultivation and Management Programme’ under which children and women are educated about the environment and encouraged to grow their food sources to get a nutritious diet.

• In September 2021, she launched an e-store website ‘Putola,’ which sells gift products like ceramic pots, handmade soaps, exotic plants, etc. She created this to help the needy.

• Archana has 3 novels under her name – ‘Poridhi,’ ‘Aparajita,’ and ‘Cottonian Ekhon Rodor Khiriki.’ She has written many short stories for numerous Assamese magazines and newspapers like Dainik Janambhumi, Amar Axom, Janasadharan, Khobor,  Prokakh, Bismoi, Amar Xomoi etc.

• Many of her short stories have been translated into Hindi, Punjabi, and English languages.

• Archana Borthakur is professionally engaged as a motivational speaker and is identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for this.