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SHI partners with Bombay Teen Challenge to run both a stationary and mobile HIV/Aids Clinic in Kamatipura, India—the heart of Mumbai's red light district. Both clinics provide contact by outreach workers to hundreds of women and children in the infamous district, and a means for workers to counsel those who need help for their health or who wish to flee the sex industry. The stationary clinic provides a haven for those infected with the deadly disease to receive proper testing, medicine and nutrition. The mobile clinic brings needed testing supplies and food into various parts of the city, reaching those who may not be bold enough to come to the stationary clinic for treatment.
SHI's goal is to ultimately bring women and children infected with HIV/Aids out of the brothels and into permanent safety at our Homes of Hope. SHI plans to develop both the stationary and mobile clinic model further and employ it in other countries where the threat of HIV/Aids is prevalent.
Kamatipura, India
This clinic is the only one in the area providing anti-retroviral treatment, anti-TB treatment, and other vital medications completely free of charge.
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| Pir and Shabana in the hospital after their mother died (top). Pir and Shabana reunited one year later. |
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When a patient visits the clinic, he or she is first tested for HIV and other diseases. Once a diagnosis is made, treatment and counseling are available daily at the clinic. Patients are also given a nutritious meal each day and a special lunch once a week to help build their strength and immune system. Often, women come to the clinic with their children, who are welcomed and treated as part of our family.
The clinic works in close partnership with our Home of Hope, India. The clinic allows us contact with women and children who need help. And for voluntary sex workers who wish to leave the profession, or for trafficking victims who are rescued or escape, the Home of Hope provides a safe place for them to heal, receive counseling and treatment, and continue their education or vocational training. This partnership provides a lifeline to those in bondage, bringing new meaning and purpose to the lives of women and children.
One such story of hope is that of Pir and his big sister Shabana. They were discovered in a hospital after their mother, a prostitute, had died from AIDS. The hospital thought Pir would also soon die, and allowed SHI's partners to take him to our HIV/Aids clinic and on to the Home of Hope. Shabana was separated from her brother and sent to a government facility. Our partners worked desperately to obtain legal rights for her. Now Shabana and her brother are together again-healthy and happy.
(Read a newspaper article excerpt about our HIV/Aids clinic in Kamatipura)
Local and international leaders are continuously surprised at the miraculous restoration of women and children at our HIV/AIDs clinic. This past year, more than 80 young women-once left for dead-have received free medicine and medical care from our doctors. Over 40 of these women have been provided with anti-retroviral drugs and a special diet each day. These women need continuous supplies of medicine and treatment…because every life is worth saving.
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