ASHA

Bringing hope to HIV infected individuals and their families

VISION 

At Asha we aim to care for the HIV / Aids infected & affected people with their families.

  • To care for and empower the HIV / Aids infected & affected people with their families – preparing them to face the challenges of health. Giving them hope, a reason to smile and live their lives with dignity & self-worth
  • To bring awareness and prevention to a society largely unprepared to face the challenges of HIV/Aids.

 

 

It’s bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance

~ Elizabeth Taylor

  • Connect the HIV infected people to their families who normally disown them. (Often it takes months and years of labor)
  • Giving them ARV & other medicines related to HIV
  • Taking patients to hospital and networking with other NGO’s
  • Buying Rations (groceries) & giving to the families
  • Regular Monitoring of all visits & their medicine intake & nutrition
  • Giving a listening ear to them. (They just want someone listen to them)
  • Helping the infected to cope with rejection from their families.
  • Children who are left to fend for themselves without parents are connected to their near and dear ones.
  • Keeping a check on the schooling of children & helping them face the pressures of life
  • Arranging jobs for those who are jobless
  • Constantly reminding patients to think positively & not give up on themselves

As the months began to roll by, Asha is being perceived as a work that does not only care to the positive friends medical, nutrition & their children’s education assistance but also helps them to see life beyond their predicament thus giving them another opportunity to face life together with their entire family and with a smile.

  • Picnic– This year  we had a lovely picnic with the volunteers and other friends in the community.  There were games organized for all. They played and enjoyed sitting on the swings, enjoying the lovely greenery which was full of coconut trees. Later in the afternoon they opened their lunch box and they shared their meals with everyone around. There was an amazing atmosphere of inclusion. After lunch we had an afternoon at the swimming pool which was opened for all our people.  As time came to leave the picnic spot many wished the day would continue and not end as our positive friends were enjoying the best of their time which is very rare for them to have as a family.
  •  Adult Literacy program: During this year we were able to bring literacy to many of the infected and affected ladies. Here they are taught via a computer how to read and write alphabets in the local (Hindi) language. Many of these people are already finding a difference while writing or reading.
  • Parents communicating their status to their own children: After many years of relating with our positive friends, during this year many of our positive parents have been able to share with their children about their HIV status. These affected children are now in their teens. Some of the parents were scared and wondered how the response from their children would be. The Asha team assured them that they would step in and help them and their children should the need arise. To our surprise all these children responded well.
  • The Support Group- many shared as to how the Asha support group has been a life changer in their lives bringing love, acceptance, security, hope and has given them a reason to live for. If anyone misses a support group they feel they haven’t met for ages. Infact Asha has now become their family.We continue to meet and see this as a very important meeting of the month. This year apart from playing games, chatting, singing songs we were able to use the time in the support groups for training and educating them on important issues of life, such as taking care of their children, homes, taking proper nutritious meals which are cheap and yet healthy for each one of them. Many of them exchange recipes over here. At the end of the support group nobody was in a hurry to go home as they love to just hang out together.
  • Ladies outing: Our positive ladies friends had seen in the movies and even seen on the television news channel about the metro trains which operate in Mumbai… Some of them had wished, will they ever be able to travel on such a metro AC train. They have in the past travelled on a Mumbai local train which is always packed and crowded. For the first time they were able to see their dream come true when a few of these precious people set feet on the AC metro train. They hardly could believe that they were actually inside this train. Some of them first time travelled together as a team which was loads of fun. After the metro train experience we took all of them to a big supermarket at the mall. Many of our friends are used to buying their groceries and everyday things of life from their small little local stores nearby. But here they were experiencing a big supermarket shopping mall.
  • Kids day Out: Kids (11 nos), were only looking forward to a day such as this. Many of these kids would never be able to go out even with their own families. It was the afternoon day out. Some of these kids came back from their school and dressed up to be ready for the outing. We were able to go at the beach and also have time with them together in the garden apart from going out for a boat ride. Games were organized along with heavy snacks for the kids. They were excited to play at the beach together with their friends (both infected and affected). Here they mixed around so well and developed new friendship with one another. They have now such a great bonding of meeting together.
  •  Movie Outing: Here an outing for the infected and the affected was organized with an aim to make it a special afternoon-evening for all of them. Truly for some it was their first movie outing in a theatre. To sit in a theatre hall was such a rich experience for some, as they were only use to watching movies at home in front of their TV sets. Later we took all the people out for snacks in a restaurant where once again they enjoyed every moment of it.
  • Children Exam: (38 children: 13 infected and 25 affected – for academic year 2014-15) Once again all our kids barring 1, have passed their exam and have moved to the next grade. This has come as a great relief and joy to many of the parents who have big dreams for their children.Worlds Aids Day: We at Asha joined with another few NGO’s and had the privilege to be part of the world Aids day where around 900 positive people taking ARV treatment from different hospital came together. One of the coordinators was a young positive couple from our Asha team whom we are caring for the last 3 years At this event a magic show was done along with dance and many other activities. Here many infected kids were asked to make a wish and some said they wished they had a bicycle, while others laptop, still others mobile, remote control toy car and some asked for new dresses. To their surprise most of them received what they had wished for. These gifts were sponsored by another NGO. But it was a real joy to see smiles on the faces of these small little school going children to see their dream come true of what they had wished for.
 

SO FAR 2002 – 2015 TOTAL PEOPLE IMPACTED

360-400 people

* Cared for 116 patients Died – 55 (M-47, F-8)
Infected kids -13, Affected kids -56

*Nutrition support        

 

(Infected person -63, Affected families -35)

 

 

SOME STATISTICS
PEOPLE REACHED SO FAR 2002-2015

 

SO FAR 2002 – 2015

TOTAL PEOPLE IMPACTED

360-400 people

* Cared for 116 patients Died – 55 (M-47, F-8)

Infected kids -13, Affected kids -56

*Nutrition support        

 

(Infected person -63, Affected families -35)

 

 

TOTAL REACHED IN JAN - DEC 2015
2015 JAN – DEC TOTAL
Cared – 61 people                                                              

(Asha patients = 61)

o   Accepted by families  people

o   Rejected by families     people

 (Additional: HIV infected Hospital volunteers = 24)

 

 

55

 

06

 

Touching affected  families

 

  220-240

 

HOW WE SPENT THE MONEY IN 2015

MEDICAL

INFECTED PEOPLE

(TREATED WITH ARV & ANTIBIOTICS)

AFFECTED PEOPLE

Number of people treated

Number of people treated WITH ANIBIOTICS

In Rupees

In Rupees

GROCERIES

INFECTED PEOPLE

 

 

AFFECTED PEOPLE

Number of people given assistance

Number of people given assisstance

In Rupees

In Rupees

CHILDREN  CARED FOR

INFECTED CHILDREN

 

AFFECTED CHILDREN

Number of CHILDREN given assistance

Number ofCHILDREN people given assisstance

In Rupees

In Rupees

VIEW OUR GALLERY

 

 

Vision Outworked

Key Areas: The work, which started in 2002, has helped many of the infected and affected families continue to see breakthroughs in

  • Medical: their lives being extended in the realm of good health where they are now connected to government hospitals for ARV medicines and are supported through us with additional medicines such as anti-biotics, vitamins, etc. on a monthly basis
  • Nutrition: them receiving monthly nutrition support which are of vital importance considering the intake of ARV drugs and other heavy anti-biotics medicines
  • Education: supporting with fees (school fees, uniforms, books, bus passes, etc) for their children to complete school education which has enabled many of these children to move to colleges and some even today earning income through jobs to support their family
  • Empowering with jobs: Asha seeks to help many infected and affected with job placements where needed.

 

HIV Hospital Volunteers meetings Asha has also been involved in meeting with the HIV infected hospital volunteers (25 -30 nos) from time to time supporting some of them through medicines, nutrition and education fees for their children and to encourage them not to give up serving at the government hospitals.

 

Support Group: We meet together on a regular basis as this is one of our important activities.  Here many are able to share their problems, pains without feeling threatened by anyone. We also have fun and end with times of having snacks together. Very often at our support group meetings during our time of sharing, people are able to identify with one another as we cry and laugh together.

 

Periodic outing with patients at a movie theatre, malls, picnics at beach: Asha organizes these outings as it has helped them to see beyond their world of pain.

 

Birthday celebration for the patients: These celebrations are filled with fun, cake being organized and games being played. Later they are able to take their pictures for remembrance. These patients feel very special as Asha makes it a day for them to remember since many have never celebrated their birthdays before.

 

Christmas party for the adults & children:  Every year Asha organizes a party where the entire families including the affected are also invited. The evening is full of games and fun. Also, heavy snacks and dinner is served. Each one is later given a take away gift. Truly a time where all these people forget their sickness and are lost in activities for the entertainment evening.

 

Job recruitment: Asha also helps many of our patients find jobs so as to be self-sufficient and help themselves

 

HIV Medical Camp in a slum area: HIV testing done for 86 people among the high-risk group

 

Preventing suicide & helping families embrace those with HIV: An educator game on HIV is organized in such a way where it has helped many people clear their doubts related to the HIV topic.