CRUSADE AGAINST HIV/AIDS
Sex is an art and a science. It is a basic need and instict of every human being. It has to be taken very seriously for both the genders.
Sex is most often connected to youth in our culture. Today’s youths are being landed into the dreamland of their own world from where they are unable to come out of the vicious circle.
Sex is also the most explosive and sensitive issue, it has to be handled with intense care like a glass, or it will break into pieces. In addition, the entire life of an individual get shattered within a moment, without prediction.
Facts: In search of jobs major chunks of rural population are moving to Mumbai and Pune from this district. City glamour allure rural youth to resort to various unwanted avenues that have been leading them to self-destruction. If you want to live life in abundance, you need to be very alert and agile for being trap into the web of living temptation around you.
It is observed that school dropout teenagers are major migrant to Mumbai and Pune. they prefer to live alone in the cities and mostly opt to work in hotel or do any odd jobs to support their families which are in the villages. The migrant population is more prone to risk behavior and may cause a tremendous loss both to family and society.
AIDS has sprung up and is being spreaded its empire across the Raigad. Thousands of innocent people have been victimized. In addition, TB cases are being increased annually adding more woes to the victims family. School dropouts and early marriage is a common scenario of this district. Ignorance, illiteracy, superstition, low family income, is a common phenomenon. Means of livelihood and resources are very poor in rural set up. Raigad is a flood and landslide prone district. This compounds a socio- economical imbalance that leads migration and migration changes the lifestyles and increases the chances of high risk behaviors among youths.
The most unfortunate and vulnerable part of family is women and children. Their plight is more painful and beyond description.
CASE STUDY
I
Puri is located on Mumbai Goa national highway, 80 km. from Mumbai. It was learnt that Abhijit and Akash were living very miserable life, since both of their parents were reported died of AIDS, I went there to asses the situation and found the two kids in a deplorable plight.
Abhijit is 8 year old and studying in 3rd std. Abhijit’s father, Ananta was living with his family in a small village puri of Raigad district. He was a fisherman. After few years he started to pick up quarrel with his wife, Sita, the dispute ended in separation.
Ananta took second wife, Radha and had two children, Akash and Abhijit. But this marriage could not stay long and Ananta died of AIDS on 23/2/1998. During this period, Radha, Abhijit’s mother was pregnant. Tragically, Radha also died on 22/1/2006, living these two kids destitute.
Devan, the uncle of the children has been looking after the duo after the death of Radha but he had large family and was not able to look after the kids. So he was seeking a good NGOs for the care of the kids. These two kids were in urgent need of love and care. Abhijit was a suspect. It was suggested to Devan, to consult the good doctor and to get done all necessary investigation.
After a week report received and found that Abhijit was HIV+. Both the kids were put in hostel. Akash (who was negative) was put in one of the boarding run by a local NGO. And Abhijit in a hostel cum school run for HIV+ children at Nashik.
Now both the children are keeping well and getting better education in a good school
II
Kot is a village located atop the hill, the village with the population of 969, scattered into satellite hamlets. Rupesh was 8 year old when he was diagnosed HIV positive, living with his maternal grandfather and grand mother in a small room in a kot. When Rupesh was a 2 year old his parents died of AIDS,
Rupesh’s father, Ramesh was a school droupout when he was 13 years old and went Pune to work there in a hotel. At the age of 18 he got marriage with Reshma . following the marriage they lived together for few months in their village, Kot. Later, Ramesh went back Pune to resume his work in a hotel. He would come for festival and for other such events to meet his family. One day he fell sick and never restored, he was diagnosed as HIV positive , his health deteriorated gradually and later he succumbed his illness. Following his death, Reshma also became the victim of the same dreaded disease. Rupesh’s life became nightmare. The bereaved grand parents have no son and hence they have no income source except a small chunk of land where they cultivate paddy crop. Rashma was their only daughter.
The poor kid left behind along with his maternal grand parents. This village is 10 km. away from the town. The road is not transportable, it takes by walk about an hour to reach the atop hill hamlets . Rupesh is also suffering from TB and is under treatment since four month. He had been referred to Pune for further investigation and treatment. He is taking regular dot treatment from government hospital and attending school.
III
Nagar is a landslide and flood prone village in Raigad. There I came across a very tragic case, of a widow and her 8 year old daughter, Akshita, who study in 1st std. in a village school and had very complex family problem. Her father took the portion of the property from his elder brother, later he went Pune and settled there. He was an AIDS suspect and succumbed to his illness. He lost portion, what he had and life too. When the widow of Subhash, came back to nagar, following the death of her husband, her brother-in-lows refused to accept the bereaved family of Subhash. Now Akshita and her mother live in a shelter, owned by other family. Akshita is now suffering from TB but brought under dot therapy with the effect of the onset of disease. She is studying in 2nd std.
( names of persons and villages changed for anonimity)
Life becomes hard when everything is lost. THINK TWICE WHILE HANDLING THE SEX
S P NAVKAR
Social worker & freelance journalist
spnavkar@rediffmail.com/samuel.navkar@gmail.com
Sex is most often connected to youth in our culture. Today’s youths are being landed into the dreamland of their own world from where they are unable to come out of the vicious circle.
Sex is also the most explosive and sensitive issue, it has to be handled with intense care like a glass, or it will break into pieces. In addition, the entire life of an individual get shattered within a moment, without prediction.
Facts: In search of jobs major chunks of rural population are moving to Mumbai and Pune from this district. City glamour allure rural youth to resort to various unwanted avenues that have been leading them to self-destruction. If you want to live life in abundance, you need to be very alert and agile for being trap into the web of living temptation around you.
It is observed that school dropout teenagers are major migrant to Mumbai and Pune. they prefer to live alone in the cities and mostly opt to work in hotel or do any odd jobs to support their families which are in the villages. The migrant population is more prone to risk behavior and may cause a tremendous loss both to family and society.
AIDS has sprung up and is being spreaded its empire across the Raigad. Thousands of innocent people have been victimized. In addition, TB cases are being increased annually adding more woes to the victims family. School dropouts and early marriage is a common scenario of this district. Ignorance, illiteracy, superstition, low family income, is a common phenomenon. Means of livelihood and resources are very poor in rural set up. Raigad is a flood and landslide prone district. This compounds a socio- economical imbalance that leads migration and migration changes the lifestyles and increases the chances of high risk behaviors among youths.
The most unfortunate and vulnerable part of family is women and children. Their plight is more painful and beyond description.
CASE STUDY
I
Puri is located on Mumbai Goa national highway, 80 km. from Mumbai. It was learnt that Abhijit and Akash were living very miserable life, since both of their parents were reported died of AIDS, I went there to asses the situation and found the two kids in a deplorable plight.
Abhijit is 8 year old and studying in 3rd std. Abhijit’s father, Ananta was living with his family in a small village puri of Raigad district. He was a fisherman. After few years he started to pick up quarrel with his wife, Sita, the dispute ended in separation.
Ananta took second wife, Radha and had two children, Akash and Abhijit. But this marriage could not stay long and Ananta died of AIDS on 23/2/1998. During this period, Radha, Abhijit’s mother was pregnant. Tragically, Radha also died on 22/1/2006, living these two kids destitute.
Devan, the uncle of the children has been looking after the duo after the death of Radha but he had large family and was not able to look after the kids. So he was seeking a good NGOs for the care of the kids. These two kids were in urgent need of love and care. Abhijit was a suspect. It was suggested to Devan, to consult the good doctor and to get done all necessary investigation.
After a week report received and found that Abhijit was HIV+. Both the kids were put in hostel. Akash (who was negative) was put in one of the boarding run by a local NGO. And Abhijit in a hostel cum school run for HIV+ children at Nashik.
Now both the children are keeping well and getting better education in a good school
II
Kot is a village located atop the hill, the village with the population of 969, scattered into satellite hamlets. Rupesh was 8 year old when he was diagnosed HIV positive, living with his maternal grandfather and grand mother in a small room in a kot. When Rupesh was a 2 year old his parents died of AIDS,
Rupesh’s father, Ramesh was a school droupout when he was 13 years old and went Pune to work there in a hotel. At the age of 18 he got marriage with Reshma . following the marriage they lived together for few months in their village, Kot. Later, Ramesh went back Pune to resume his work in a hotel. He would come for festival and for other such events to meet his family. One day he fell sick and never restored, he was diagnosed as HIV positive , his health deteriorated gradually and later he succumbed his illness. Following his death, Reshma also became the victim of the same dreaded disease. Rupesh’s life became nightmare. The bereaved grand parents have no son and hence they have no income source except a small chunk of land where they cultivate paddy crop. Rashma was their only daughter.
The poor kid left behind along with his maternal grand parents. This village is 10 km. away from the town. The road is not transportable, it takes by walk about an hour to reach the atop hill hamlets . Rupesh is also suffering from TB and is under treatment since four month. He had been referred to Pune for further investigation and treatment. He is taking regular dot treatment from government hospital and attending school.
III
Nagar is a landslide and flood prone village in Raigad. There I came across a very tragic case, of a widow and her 8 year old daughter, Akshita, who study in 1st std. in a village school and had very complex family problem. Her father took the portion of the property from his elder brother, later he went Pune and settled there. He was an AIDS suspect and succumbed to his illness. He lost portion, what he had and life too. When the widow of Subhash, came back to nagar, following the death of her husband, her brother-in-lows refused to accept the bereaved family of Subhash. Now Akshita and her mother live in a shelter, owned by other family. Akshita is now suffering from TB but brought under dot therapy with the effect of the onset of disease. She is studying in 2nd std.
( names of persons and villages changed for anonimity)
Life becomes hard when everything is lost. THINK TWICE WHILE HANDLING THE SEX
S P NAVKAR
Social worker & freelance journalist
spnavkar@rediffmail.com/samuel.navkar@gmail.com
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