On the Verge: The Local Other*

 “Can you get HIV from living with someone who has HIV?”  “Will you get HIV from a mosquito bite?”  “How about from kissing?”  Sandesh Mahadik, an HIV counselor by day and aspiring actor by night, asked these questions to a crowd at Mumbai’s Juhu Beach on a balmy December evening. They had gathered around Mr. Mahadik as he and his fellow volunteers put on a street theater performance.  Earlier in the evening, informational health literature and condoms had been disseminated among beach-goers by members of Sanmitra Trust, a non-profit organization founded in 1999 that runs several projects for HIV prevention and for the care, support and empowerment of people living with HIV/AIDS. 

Mr. Mahadik, who has a bachelors degree in counseling and works at an AIDS hospital by day, believes that Indians are “dangerously” uninformed about HIV/AIDS and lack access to accurate information about prevention and treatment.  “In a country that is struggling to educate its youth and to achieve 100% literacy, HIV prevention is not viewed as a top priority.  But it must be.” Mr. Mahadik explains that the desire to inform fellow Indians has driven him to volunteer with the Sanmitra Trust, which, among other things, sponsors street theater relating to HIV/AIDS issues.  “We try to break down stereotypes and societal stigma associated with HIV/AIDS,” says Mr. Mahadik. 

 One of Sanmitra Trust’s street theater pieces tells the story of a carefree Indian youth who finds out that he has contracted HIV.  Faced with this news, he is confronted by his brother who tells the young man that he should leave their family’s home and live on his own.  “I’m not sharing a toilet with you,” exclaims the brother.  When their father gets wind of these developments, he is understanding; he sits the boys down and explains that HIV cannot be spread this way.  “Does anyone know how HIV is spread?” the father asks the growing crowd.

 Mahadik explains that the public has been receptive to Sanmitra Trust’s street theater performances, although noting that in Mumbai, the center of India’s film industry, “everyone’s a critic.”  He believes that there is still a great deal of denial in India about HIV/AIDS; however, people are beginning to recognize that the virus “is killing millions of our countrymen.”  Mr. Mahadik is hopeful that through the work of Sanmitra Trust and other local grassroots organizations and charities, India will be able to overcome the greatest public health crisis in its history.  (View Pictures)

*Written by Ameet Kabrawala, TDN Board Chairman, from Mumbai, India

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The Meaning of Volunteerism*

“Volunteering is an act of heroism on a grand scale.  And it matters profoundly.  It does more than help people beat the odds; it changes the odds.” 

Former President Bill Clinton 

 For many years I have been a volunteer at a faith-based agency that operates a food pantry and used furniture program for needy people.  We serve over one-hundred families each week.  Most of the food we distribute is donated by local churches, organizations and individuals and, except for a paid director and two part-time assistants, all of the work is done by volunteers.  Without its volunteers, the agency would not have the necessary finances to exist.  And, without the agency, hundreds of people each week would not have the basics they so desperately need.  Many of our clients are employed and some have two jobs; many are single mothers and many are elderly and disabled.  What they all have in common is that they need a “helping hand” to make it through the month.  Our agency is able to provide that helping hand through the generous volunteers who donate their time and talents while bringing hope to the people we serve.  And, in turn, our volunteers experience the true meaning of what it means to be members of a caring community. 

In the town where I live there is a nonprofit organization that sends high school students to global destinations (primarily emerging nations) to help build community facilities such as medical clinics, schools, daycare centers, youth facilities, and homes. The students volunteer their time and talents during school vacations and funding to participate in the experience is provided by monies raised by the students.  Through this unique volunteer experience these students are able to begin to establish a pattern of lifelong humanitarian service and are able to gain exposure to global issues and problems facing emerging countries.  And, while working alongside local residents, the students also help to foster relationships between the two cultures.

These examples of how volunteerism can make a difference and can be life changing are well expressed by author and lecturer, Marianne Williamson, who stated “In every community there is work to be done.  In every nation there are wounds to heal.  In every heart there is the power to do it.”  I believe in the power of volunteerism and what can be accomplished when people band together for a common cause.

*Written by Rose Jordan, a friend of Transdiaspora Network

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