Prabha Hira Pratishthan

She began her work in the field of HIV/AIDS in early 1990’s when the picture around the issue was only filled with deep stigma, stringent discrimination and a great despise. Mangal stood in that crowd for these unwanted, hated, and sick population. She became a ray of hope for these marginalised community. Her calibre speaks in her action to bring a humane change in the lives of thousands of people. Before coming to Palawi, each child had a very dark and gloomy past. After both parents have died from AIDS related illness, the child had to suffer at different levels by their distant or close relatives. Verbal and physical abuse, discrimination, stigma, lack or no food or clothes were part of their daily lives. Their minds had been scared with stigma and discrimination attached to HIV/AIDS, even before knowing or understanding the meaning of the word "HIV-positive". The children at incredibly young age were treated in inhumane ways. Discrimination intertwined with their everyday routine. The sad truth is that these vulnerable and hapless children had no place to go or survive. Many of them were abandoned at the railway station, bus stop or left all alone in a deserted place to die. Most of these children were found by local people or police and sent to Palawi. HIV positive children are most vulnerable and are marginalized, at the same time these children are as much an integral part of society as we are. Mangal shah and her organization should be selected because of the Impact/Outcome/contribution of the work done. The impact Palawi makes towards the most vulnerable and marginalized group affected by HIV/AIDS is no illusion but reality at the grass root level. People were reluctant to accept HIV positive orphan children into our society but its Mangal Shah’s commitment, perseverance and endeavours that has not only given a new meaning to the lives of these children but have made them a responsible citizen. The impact of HIV/AIDS related death or illness of parents has tremendous negative effect on children's education and health. Before coming to Palawi, 90% of the children were either school dropout or was not able to attend the school because of their health conditions. AIDS orphan usually lack parental care or financial resources for education and well-being. Most of the children in our care home comes from a low income or poor socio-economic status. But now, all the children above 5 years are getting a formal education in our very own educational unit of Prabha Hira Pratishthan, Gayanmandir. At the local level it is a huge change to see HIV positive orphan children not only going to school and receiving a formal education but also scoring excellent marks in their classes. When we see our young boys and girls earning their own livelihood by making informed decisions about their work and their life, it gives us immense pleasure. At Palawi Vocational Training Programme is introduced to enhance the livelihood opportunities of HIV –positive women and elder children. The Vocational Training Programme aims to develop entrepreneurial skill among them. The objective is to create a workforce empowered with improved skills and knowledge to gain access to decent employment and become self-sustained. Each child at Palawi is encouraged since very young age to be skilled in their area of interest. They are advocated and guided to become an agent of change and, just to our expectation, the adult residents of Palawi have been helping in other social projects of Prabha Hira Pratishthan. They are understanding the true meaning of " giving back to society". Most of the girls in project Palawi were admitted here in the residential care home with a very brutal and harsh experiences in their past lives. Some of them being raped or physically abused by their distant relatives. Many of them were tortured and forced to do all household work after their parents have died. They were refused admission into school. These girls are no longer in threat of being raped or ill-treated by any relatives. They are no longer ashamed of themselves. Continuous counselling and support from the organization in every possible way has definitely changed their mind and their life. It is great to see our girls confident, healthy, smart and educated. They are working as teachers, care givers, fashion designers etc. It is indeed a proud moment for us. The intervention in the area related to orphan children living with HIV/AIDS is absolutely important as these children are most vulnerable and marginalized. They can easily slip into dark circle of sexual exploitation, drug abuse, exploitative child labour, phyco-social distress, reduced access to health service, nutrition-shelter and material needs, withdrawal from school, economic problems, life on streets. They face horrible discrimination from their family and society at young age. The impact of HIV/AIDS related death or illness of parents has tremendous negative effect on children's education and health. • AIM 1: Ensure access to high quality medical care to all children resulting in a reduction in the opportunistic infections and hospitalizations. • AIM 2: Provide opportunities to access quality education to all children in the home. • AIM 3: A. Provide opportunities to access to career guidance, skill development trainings and mentoring for children to prepare towards transition to independent adult living. • AIM 4: Provide opportunities for children/youth to participate in decision making around their wellbeing as well as for using life skills in transition towards adulthood. • AIM 5: Building confidence and raising the children to be fearless and be informed about their rights. • AIM 6: The young children acting as an agent of change and giving back to society. Mangal Shah’s strength is her commitment to work at the grassroot level where the intervention is needed the most and to include the most vulnerable and marginalized population of the society and bring a social change. The forte of our organization is our capability to address the stigma and issues of such marginalized communities. We have developed various methods to respond to the need of the socially and economically excluded communities and to keep them in the centre of all our work. www.palawi.org