ACET Nireekshana India, led by Doctors Sujai and Lavanya Suneetha, offers compassionate care to those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS in and around Hyderabad in India.

India has a rapidly growing HIV and AIDS problem, with an estimated 1 million people infected or affected.  Many of the poorest struggle to get access to government health programmes and ACET Nireekshana offers diagnosis, counselling, medicines and nutrition to over 1,000 people and their families.

From a clinic held in the Suneethas' front room, the work has expanded rapidly to a specialist centre as well as satellite treatment and care centres held in local churches in and around Hyderabad, usually in the poorest areas.

Sujai and Lavanya also involve their teams in training church leaders and teaching HIV prevention in schools and on youth camps.  Their clinic has also become recognised for the quality of its research as well as the quality of its care.

ACET Nireekshana India continues to change lives as this story shows.

We have been in the service to a HIV+ lady who recently lost her husband  and was rescued from committing suicide by drowning. This desperate situation was the result of ill advice and ignorance of the people about AIDS who came to the funeral of her husband, who told her to stay away from her children, cooking, and touching anyone including her children.  From that day onwards she refused to take medicines and did not eat food. Her children could not do anything and a local pastor asked help from Nireekshana. A team from Nireekshana went to her place and counselled and prayed for her.

Mallika Training Program

Mallika Training program began in January 2009, through the inspiration of Nireekshana ACET in India to help empower women affected by AIDS in skills and self confidence. It began with 8 women coming to learn basic machine stitching and hand embroidery, first taught by Melanie Hutchinson (a volunteer from USA) with Helen Rose (a volunteer from UK). Now almost a full year since beginning, about 25 women have been taught basic stitching, advanced stitching, hand embroidery, and candle making,. Beginning in January 2010, Mallika will again start with basic, intermediate, and advanced machine stitching units, with units for teaching hand embroidery, fabric painting, and candles while adding beautician training to the program. Anuradha, a woman in the Nireekshana program, is now teaching classes! This is a great vision of the program to train up teachers, who can teach others. Mallika hopes to touch 100 women this second year in the training program, giving AIDS affected women a safe healthy environment to learn new skills and increase their income.