People living with HIV-AIDS have found a ray of hope in Himmat Gram, a residential, medical and vocational facility for People Living with HIV-AIDS coming up at Islak, 15 km from Ahmednagar.
* Puja, an HIV-positive commercial sex worker from Shevgaon, had lost all hope when she was thrown out along with her 6-year-old son by her brothel keeper.
* HIV-positive labourer Ramesh Rahatne from Osmanabad was caught in a crisis after he was dismissed by his labour contractor when he learnt that Rahatne, his wife and child were HIV-positive.
Many such poor, hapless people living with HIV-AIDS, who are stigmatised and discriminated against by their families, friends, neighbours and employers, have found a ray of hope in Himmat Gram, a residential, medical and vocational facility for People Living with HIV-AIDS (PLHA) coming up at Islak, 15 km from Ahmednagar.
Some like Puja and the Rahatne family have shifted to Himmat Gram, a project undertaken by the non-governmental organisation (NGO), Snehalaya.
According to Snehalaya’s founder, Girish Kulkarni, in the 1990s, brothel keepers from all over the state used to leave the HIV-positive prostitutes and their HIV-positive children at the gates of Snehalaya’s rehabilitation centre, one of the first of its kind for people with HIV.
The mothers would die at the centre in the hope that Snehalaya would take care of their children. Since then, Kulkarni was inspired by a vision to set up a well-equipped centre for medical care, vocational training and family and social reintegration for people with HIV-AIDS. That dream is now taking shape at Islak.
“A shelter cannot be the answer to the needs of these people. So we decided to set up a sort of a village for them. It’s the need of the time, so that we can first bring them together, empower them and later try to integrate them into the mainstream,” said Kulkarni.
Families suffering from AIDS want to stay together for emotional support. The shelter structures and community care centres are unable to satisfy this need. Himmat Gram will serve as a role model for the proper rehabilitation of these people, said Kulkarni.
Although the project, spread over 25 acres of land, is still under construction, some families have already begun staying in the half-completed building. Once completed, it will provide shelter to about 100 families of PLHA.
Each family would be able to stay for a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years. The project aims to reintegrate the PLHA and empower them. It will have residences for the families, a community kitchen, a 100-bed hospital, English medium school and vocational training facilities.
A well-equipped hospital will provide for the medical needs and treatment of the inmates. Vocational training will include work skills in agriculture, floriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and dairy. Educational courses related to information technology, nursing and home science will also be provided.
“They can grow food grain and vegetables around the residential buildings. We have reserved space for all vocational training,” said project officer, Ambadas Chauhan.
Facilities for entertainment, library, study room, yoga and other recreational activities have also been planned at Himmat Gram.
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