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Joining hands to make a difference

A number of South Mumbai based NGOs depend on volunteers in their quest to light the flame of hope. Here's a look at two such organisations

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Flashback fifteen years and one would recall veteran actor and humanitarian Shabana Azmi urge the general public to understand that HIV does not spread by touch. Her voice beamed into our drawing rooms as she said: Aise toh sirf pyaar badhta hai (touch can only help spread love). And yet, despite the awareness reaching out far and wide, HIV infected people still suffer from a bias, one that plagues the mindset of the educated populace.
But like they say, one sees light at the end of the tunnel. And it is no different in this community. Here are instances of some organisations that have made a difference to the HIV infected community.

The Humsafar Trust is an organisation operating through support centres at Masjid, Dharavi and Wadala. Working with volunteers since the time it opened its doors to the members of the LGBT community, this NGO not only offers to counsel and advice members as they come to terms with their sexuality, it also also makes them aware of the dangers of HIV.

Back in 1994—the year that The Humsafar Trust was set up—19-year old Pallav Patankar got in touch with the team for himself. However, since then he has been actively involved in the works of the NGO. Starting off as a counselling volunteer, Patankar was deeply impacted by the opportunities that his role (in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector) exposed him to. On visiting various pathology laboratories to fulfil his job role, Patankar watched closely the angst-ridden faces of those waiting to come to terms with their HIV test results. That's when her felt the need to address this issue in a larger, more sensitive and humane manner.

That's when he joined The Humsafar Trust in 2010. Having experienced both the spectrums of working with an association, today, as Director—Programmes at the Trust, Patankar has been instrumental in curating Saathiya. "A programme aimed at inducting volunteers into the organisation in a structured manner, Saathiya will see its first batch of volunteers taking charge this weekend. The volunteers will help us in strengthening our infrastructure, which is the backbone of our operations. While they will not be involved in any counselling directly, training and enabling them to take on this responsibility later is also on the agenda," says Patankar.

The SoBo-based India division of Make-A-Wish Foundation (MAW) is another organisation that functions primarily on the base built by their network of volunteers. "In the past year, we have fulfilled about 250 wishes of children diagnosed with life-threatening diseases in the city, of which a good number are HIV. This has been possible only due to the strong support that has been extended by the 40-member strong team of volunteers we have," says Deepak Bhatia, CEO, MAW India. At MAW, the volunteers are, literally, the link between the organisation and the children. The team of volunteers identify the children on getting in touch with other MAW-partnered NGOs. They also get a certificate from the concerned doctors and then spend ample time with the children so as to identify the wishes that can make a difference in their healing. Yes… there has been a strong impact of this wish granting, so much so that an HIV child, who was given just six months to live, is still going strong three and a half years later, concludes Bhatia.

Non-governmental organisations depend on the compassion of strangers willing to volunteer their time and expertise as much as the finances that keep the operations running. Patankar and Bhatia both agree that more volunteers would mean a further reach of their services into the lives of those affected. While those in the fold are definitely unbiased and aware, the low numbers indicate the number of people who are still uninformed of the consequences of this disease. The truth remains, every hand that joins them can make a difference in the slightest way possible.

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