UK YMCA visits India

29 January 2009

For over two years, Halton YMCA in North West England have been working with Y Care International and Cosmopolitan Housing Association in Liverpool to raise funds to support an HIV/AIDS orphanage run by Y Care International partner, Mangalore YMCA.

The money raised pays for essential treatment for the children and young people there. Mangalore is home to some of the world’s poorest people. Many of them are at high risk of HIV and AIDS. Poverty and poor healthcare mean many people don’t have access to sexual health information. Mangalore YMCA works to raise awareness in the community about the care of children infected and affected by HIV and AIDS – in a country where HIV/AIDS carries a huge stigma. The orphanage, which was opened in 2003, provides care and support to children who are both infected and have been orphaned to HIV.

In January 2009, a delegation of staff and residents from Halton YMCA travelled to India to find out the reality for young people living with HIV and AIDS in Mangalore. The aim of the visit was to learn about the issues facing the YMCA in Mangalore and India and to learn from Mangalore YMCA staff and young people who are affected by HIV and AIDS. The young people from Halton and those they met in India shared learning, skills and experience about the issues faced by young people, both in India and the UK.  
 
Stuart Wroe (Y Care International’s Senior Global Youth Work Coordinator), who accompanied the delegation, said:
 
“The delegation was overwhelmingly positive. The young residents from Halton YMCA – all of whom have not had the advantages enjoyed by many of their peers - all worked together well as a team, showed great maturity and engaged with the many difficult and challenging experiences out there. I found them all eager to embrace new experiences – from trying the food; through to talking and participating with people and children living with HIV and AIDS; to readily offering to accept the responsibility to chair and scribe our nightly reflection and evaluation meetings.”
 
At one of the final reflection meetings, one resident asked the group to reflect on their experiences in India. Some of their comments included:

•    “I have learnt a lot and have a lot to learn”
•    “We can now talk with authority on HIV and AIDS”
•    “What hits home is the vast ignorance and stigma in India and the UK”
•    “My preconceptions are altered”.

Next month, Stuart will be speaking at Cosmopolitan Housing Association’s ‘Volunteer Achievement Awards’, which will celebrate the efforts of people who have volunteered their time to help improve the lives of individuals and their communities.