Ashodaya bags two UN projects

Ashodaya Samithi,a Mysore-based voluntary organisation comprising of female, male and transgender sex workers who have shown how community led initiatives can be highly successful in bringing down HIV incidence among the most marginalized and vulnerable communities, has recently received two projects from the United Nations’ international agencies, UNFPA and UNAIDS.

The two projects bagged by Ashodaya from the UNFPA, Delhi and UNAIDS, Regional Support Team, Bangkok, has led to the setting up of Ashodaya Academy, an institution that will provide both classroom and onsite support for running HIV prevention programmes for most at risk populations. The UNFPA project entails the Samithi to work in two selected districts of Rajasthan and build capacities of sex workers in the two districts to lead community processes for prevention of HIV as well as treatment for sexually transmitted infection and accessing care and support services.

Ashodaya will select community leaders from the two districts, bring them to Mysore for an exposure visit and follow up with onsite support in Rajasthan. The Rajasthan State Aids Control Society will later replicate the pilot project in other districts. The cost of the project is Rs 25 lakh in the first year, Ashodaya Secretary Bhagyalakshmi said.

The Rs 75 lakh UNAIDS project aims at bringing programme managers and implementation of HIV prevention intervention from different countries in the Asia region to Mysore. The participants will observe, understand and implement HIV prevention projects in their respective countries from the learning in Mysore. President Rathnamma said the community faculty would take the participants through community led processes that will eventually lead to a successful HIV prevention response.

There will also be scope for sex workers from Mysore to visit different countries to provide onsite support to their projects.

“International recognition is always a matter of pride, especially if it comes from UN organizations. The stage is set now for Ashodaya Academy to share experiences with other organizations and communities at best practice of HIV prevention response,” the two office-bearers opined.

Continuous efforts to check HIV incidence has led to a considerable fall in HIV cases in Mysore district and also in Karnataka, which was in third place in HIV cases, Bhagyalakshmi said.

As part of its drive to rehabilitate sex workers, Ashodaya is successfully running a restaurant in Mysore, after bagging a Rs. 16 lakh World Bank grant for innovative and small-scale business proposal under ‘Development Marketplace’ programme. It is solely managed by this marginalised community, generally looked down by society.