Implementing Partner: Sanghamitra Service Society

Dates: June - Ongoing

Donor: The Big Lottery Fund The Bryan Guiness Trust

Established in 1968, the Sanghamitra Service Society (SSS), is a lead member of a coalition of international NGOs working with HIV/AIDS affected communities in Andhra Pradesh to develop an infrastructure of support, care and awareness for children and those affected by and infected with HIV/AIDS.

Andhra Pradesh has the second highest incidence of HIV/AIDS of all Indian states, and a quarter of reported cases in India. In these communities, facing tremendous stigmatisation, children are extremely vulnerable to HIV infected, caught as they are at the intersection of poverty, child labour, commercial sex and other forms of exploitation.

Project Objectives:

1. Better access to primary education and higher completion rates by the most disadvantaged girls and boys.

2. Better and more relevant primary education to meet the needs of disadvantaged boys and girls.

3. Reducing stigma for those affected by HIV/AIDSs.

4. Increased access to, and control over, effective ways to prevent and control disease.

5. Increased to, and control over, better quality reproductive health services for the most disadvantaged.

At present, LfL and SSS work with communities affected by HIV/AIDS and with local Government schools to increase enrolment and attendance rates of children left without a guardian. Recognising poor health as a major affecting the performance and high drop out rates of children, our project provides regular nutritional supplements and health checkups. It also addresses the need for appropriate and more adequate income generation activities as a means of reducing adolescents' vulnerability to exploitation, by suporting supervised vocational training.

On a wider scale, through our support groups and tutor initiatives we aim to help local community members and parents to provide a supportive environment for children. The project has established community groups to provide alternative, much needed, supoprt by selecting tutors from the community, who play a vital role, working closely with the community and children's classmates, to create self-sustaining networks. Children attend centres that provide educational, creative and recreational programmes, as well as counselling services. Our partner organisations also work closly with Government schools to deal with widespread issues of stigma and exclusion to ensure that children affected by or infected with HIV/AIDS have a secure, safe childhood.

So far the programme has opened an enormous 72 Supplementary Eduction Centres (SECs) and almost 4,000 children, sixty per cent of whom are girls, have been provided with education support. Furthermore, vocational training has allowed many students to start earning a living safely. With skills ranging from tailoring to computing, these adolescents can earn between 500 and 2000 Indian Rupees a month, to support their families' basic needs. Parents, community members and teachers are also fully supported by SSS and the other partner organisations through community groups, training and awareness-raising.