Project hope.

How does a church undertake HIV/AIDS work in a community where prostitution is ritually sanctioned and considered a way of life based on caste? This is the challenge that the Church of North India's Project Nirmal faces in its efforts to respond to HIV/AIDS in communities along the national highway in Madhya Pradesh, Central India.

Fifty-four villages are stretched along the highway between Ratlam and Neemuch, an area not far from Jobat where The Presbyterian Church in Canada has a long history of work. These villages are members of the Banchhara tribe. Here prostitution is an accepted way of life; integrated into religious lore and history. Banchhara girls are divided into two groups: those who marry, and those who become prostitutes. It is obligatory for mothers to dedicate at least one daughter to prostitution, early in childhood. Banchhara men--usually fathers and brothers of the girls--flag down trucks to bring in customers.

Promoting HIV/AIDS prevention in these villages is very challenging. Karuna Roy, coordinator of HIV/AIDS programs for the Church of North india's Synodical Board of Health Services, explains that village leaders don't want to change their way of life. But if anyone can change their minds, it is Karuna Roy.

Karuna Roy is valiant in her crusade to stop the spread of HIV in the Banchhara villages. At the same time she is compassionate and caring to those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. Karuna discovered that the key to breaking into these communities was convincing village leaders and members that she and the Project Nirmal staff are genuinely concerned for the health and well-being of their daughters, sisters, cousins, and aunts.

Project Nirmal combats HIV/AIDS at many levels. Staff work with volunteers from the community to talk to people about the dangers of HIV and how they can protect themselves. Many of the Banchhara people are illiterate and have never heard of AIDS. Numerous sessions have been held to discuss HIV/AIDS prevention, and condoms are now freely available in many of the villages.

People are encouraged to be tested at government testing centres within the project area, where pre- and post- testing counselling are also offered. For people who test positive, Project Nirmal staff work to treat opportunistic infections, train families in home-based care, and provide palliative care when required.

With a view to the longer term, Project Nirmal is providing Banchhara youth with alternatives to prostitution. With much effort, one girl has chosen to leave prostitution. She is now married to a Banchhara man, but has paid a price--banishment from her home village. Still she continues to work with Project Nirmal in other villages, and is dedicated to educating Banchhara people on the risks of HIV/AIDS, and encouraging other girls to leave prostitution.

Combating tradition and history is a huge task with much work still to do. In some villages, community leaders are very co-operative but in others women are not allowed to interact with the project team at all. "Nirmal" means hope in the local language, and the Church of North India is committed to ensuring, in an age of HIV/AIDS, that there is hope in Banchhara villages.

Project Nirmal is supported with funds raised in the Towards a World without AIDS campaign.