The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Camp to increase awareness

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Thursday, Jul 31, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Camp to increase awareness

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: An awareness camp for street children, which aims at educating them about HIV and AIDS in particular, is being conducted by the Young Men’s Christian Association at Kumbalgod. The five-day camp started on July 29 and will go on till August 2.

Participants include children living on the road and those addicted to drugs and alcohol. Nearly 40 children from different parts of the city have been taken to the camp. Doctors, counsellors and social workers from Muktha Foundation and K.R. Puram General Hospital and Community Health Cell are participating in the camp.

S.V. Rathnakumar, general secretary, YMCA, said: “The camp is mainly targeted to bring awareness among the street children. They are prone to sexually transmitted diseases and are not monitored by anyone. Most of them are rag pickers in the city earning around Rs. 200 a day and spend all their money on alcohol, drugs and sex.”

“We spot these children at the local bus stand and railway stations and then create a rapport with them. After continuous interactions, they begin to open up with their problems ” says Daniel Rathnakar J., secretary of YMCA, Bangalore.

Appi, 17, says: “I have been on the street since my childhood. With parental pressure, I ran away from home. I have been substance inhaler and an alcoholic for some years now. Even my friends are all addicts. I work as a rag picker.”

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