Request for information regarding NGO collaboratives

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

I am an Indian graduate student studying Public Health

in the U.S. A colleague of mine and I are very

interested in designing a project that establishes a

collaborative " Umbrella Agency " (for lack of a better

term at the moment) in India that serves as a focal

point not only for disseminating information, but also

as a networking tool that will allow NGOs working in

the field of HIV/AIDS and, especially, those involved

in addressing the particular needs of street children

and those orphaned due to the disease. We envision

that this Collaborative will enhance the scope of

services provided to these high- risk populations, and

will also, perhaps, prove to be a useful catalyst for

the establishment of key public- private partnerships

in this area.

In order for this proposal to go forward, we would

like to invite suggestions from you, those who are

directly and indirectly involved in the provision of

services to street children (including those affected

by HIV/ AIDS. We ask for any information or

recommendations that you can make as to what kind of a

role you envision such a collaboration will play. We

do realise that NACO is the governmental arm that

represents just such an " Umbrella Agency " , and we do

not wish to re- invent the wheel, so to speak, but we

would like to see this collaborative emerge from

within the NGOs and other groups working in this area

themselves.

Additionally, we would appreciate it if you could

provide us with any information on collaborative

efforts that are already under way. We are aware of,

for example, the Kerala Partners Forum, but only

through information disseminated on these list-

serves. If you could provide us with more detailed

information on such collaboratives, who is involved,

and what your goals and objectives are, and, also,

whether you think that an overarching collaborative,

such as the one we envision, is useful, pertinent and/

or necessary, that would be a great help.

Thank you so much for your time. We look forward to

hearing from you soon.

Regards,

Rashna Ginwalla

The Washington University

School of Public Health and Health Sciences

E-mail: Rashna Ginwalla <arcturus4p@...>

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