Pandy

a beneficiary of our existing programme to reduce the spread of communicable diseases, particularly as TB and HIV

I live with my wife and three children in Ramalingapuram, a medium size village near Seva Nilayam (one of VST's partners). For the last seven years I have been working as a broker trading buffalo and sheep. Before this I was a cloth merchant travelling all over India.

In 1996 I fell ill. I had a liver complaint and weak legs. I found it hard to work. My weight had also gone down from 52kg to 45kg. I visited lots of clinics in Chennai but 6 months later when I still wasn't better I went to a private clinic in Aundipatty despite the fact that I had, by now, spent almost all my savings on medical bills. The doctor recommended I have a blood test. He didn't say why. I was very shocked when the doctor gave me the result - HIV positive. I didn't really understand exactly what this meant but I knew it wasn't good and it made me scared for myself and my wife.

By now, my legs had almost returned to normal but I always seemed to be coughing. A friend recommended that I visit Seva Nilayam's mobile clinic when it next came to the village. They took some of my sputum and later told me I had tuberculosis. I was admitted into the Seva Nilayam TB ward. While I was there I told them about my HIV status. For the first time since the blood test I was told what HIV was and how I may have caught it. I could ask them any questions I wanted. It was such a relief to talk to someone about it. They also asked me if I would like to be put in touch with other HIV positive people.

I have now become a 'peer educator' for Seva Nilayam. They give me regular training and I talk to my friends and neighbours in the surrounding four villages about HIV and tell them how to prevent it. If anyone is worried I take them to the Seva Nilayam clinic. I wouldn't take anyone to a private clinic after the way I was treated there.

My TB was cured but I keep having other problems with my health and my wife has also tested positive. We had our children adopted because we were too worried about their future. Things are pretty bad but I do get a lot of satisfaction from being a peer educator and knowing that I am preventing the same thing happening to other people.