The “AIDS Walk for Life” Enters West Bengal

[Guest guest]

The “AIDS Walk for Life” Enters West Bengal

Sonakonia / Datan (West Midnapur district), August 19, 2005: “We meet people,

talk to them, and at the end of the day when we count the number of people we

interacted with and sensitized was 10,000 or 12,000, we get immense

satisfaction. But then remembering the number of HIV infected people in India,

we feel that there should be more initiatives like this to bring about awareness

among the people regarding the epidemic,” says Sandeep, a Core and the

official photographer of the s Team that is spearheading Project Concern

International / India’s unprecedented year-long AIDS walk through all of 13

states and over 300 villages, towns and cities across the length and breadth of

India.

The group of 30 walkers, all young men 18 to 30 years old, started their journey

in New Delhi on World AIDS Day on December 1, 2004. Today, more than eight

months later, they entered West Bengal around 12.30 pm at Sonakonia village in

West Midnapur district. The village was full of enthusiasm, with arrangements

having been made for a warm welcome to the walkers with flowers and music.

A short welcome ceremony was organized for the walkers, which was attended by a

number of government officials. Chief among them were Mr. S. Suresh Kumar,

Project Director, West Bengal State AIDS Prevention & Control Society

(WBSAP & CS); Mr. Swapan Kr. Pramanik, Vice Chancellor, Vidyasagar University;

Prof. Anil Kr. Jana, NSS Coordinator, Vidyasagar University; and Dr. Man Govinda

Mondal, CMOH (West Midnapur District).

After the welcome ceremony, the walkers resumed their walk and were joined by a

large number of school children, college students and all the government

officials present on the occasion. At a later stage a number of people living

with HIV/AIDS also joined the walk. All along people showered the walkers with

flowers, with the sankha sounding constantly in the backdrop. The enthusiasm of

the people seemed to encourage the walkers in their long march.

A group of girls welcomed the walkers with rakhi. It was quite opportune that it

was Rakshabandhan today. In the context of the walk, this gesture assumed

special significance. With HIV increasingly affecting women and children in the

country, the rakhis would be an apt reminder to the walkers about this fact!

The walkers have been following the route of the Golden Quadrilateral Highway.

All along they have been providing preventive HIV/AIDS education as well as

vital health care and counselling to thousands of rural and urban residents. The

goal is to reach out to an ambitious two million Indians, with the main focus on

children, youth and women. Whether that goal is reached remains to be seen. But

the courage and patience of all the walkers and the logistical arrangements made

by Project Concern International / India (PCI / India) definitely deserve

support and respect.

The walkers, covering on an average 20 km a day from 8.00 am in the morning till

5.30 pm in the evening, have been interacting with people on the way, sharing

literature on HIV/AIDS and answering their questions. A mobile clinic with

doctors and counsellors on board has been providing free health care services to

people in rural and urban areas alike. These activities have been supplemented

with the efforts and resources of both government and non-government

organizations.

While the administrative machinery has been assisting with route management

issues, the voluntary bodies have been organizing a host of awareness generation

activities like street plays, film shows and sporting activities to supplement

the walkers’ efforts. Various State AIDS Control Societies have acted as the

organizational leads in each state, in conjuction with District AIDS Control

Societies. Schools, colleges and youth organizations like NSS and NCC have also

joined in with actvities aimed at educating the youth and also in providing

night shelters to the walkers. Clearly, the walk has managed to bring about the

kind of inter-sectoral collaboration that is needed to tackle the HIV/AIDS

epidemic in India today. Hopefully this spirit of collaboration would continue

even after the walk is over.

The first night shelter for the walkers in West Bengal was organised in the

campus of the Bhattar College at Datan in West Midnapur district. A welcome

ceremony at the college attracted a crowd of onlookers. Tomorrow (August 20) the

walkers would be headed to Belda, the next stop on their onward march to a

healthier future for all of us.

Watch out this space for more news on the walk! Suprio Chattopadhyay and

Subhajit Pakira report on behalf of Solidarity and Action Against The HIV

Infection in India (SAATHII) prepared this report. This coverage of the walk as

it passes through West Bengal comes as SAATHII’s support towards PCI India’s

“AIDS Walk for Life” initiative. SAATHII is also documenting portions of the

walk through West Bengal on video and through photographs, and will be

participating in a variety of HIV/AIDS awareness generation and advocacy

activities in Calcutta, Serampore and Chandannagar to supplement the walk.

SAATHII would like to acknowledge WBSAP & CS, Calcutta, and Elton AIDS

Foundation, London, for funding support towards these activities.

Pawan Dhall

E-mail: <pawan30@...>