The church has now held an appeal each Christmas for two years in thanksgiving for its own recently completed church complex, and this year’s funds will be used to equip a new children’s wing and laboratory at ACET Nireekshana in Hyderabad, India.

Bill Miller, who organises the Thanksgiving Fund, told us,

The church responded very positively to the need from ACET.  HIV and AIDS is often a difficult topic to talk about in church, but when faced with the suffering of children it is difficult not to respond with compassion,”

The funds will allow ACET to open new facilities to cope with the rapidly growing number of people registering with their clinics.  It is estimated that there are over 1 million people in India with HIV, where ignorance and stigma about the disease can mean that doctors refuse treatment and families disown those who declare their status.

Dr Lavanya Suneetha, who leads ACET Nireekshana with her husband Sujai, explained how the partnership with Watford came about.

During a visit to the UK last summer I had the opportunity to share some of the work we were doing with members of St Luke’s.  I was thrilled to hear of their response, which is a real answer to prayer.  Not only will we now have specialist facilities for HIV positive children, but the new laboratory equipment will also allow us to diagnose and treat opportunistic infections far more effectively.

HIV and AIDS hits children particularly hard, Anand, one of the Hyderabad patients, is a six year old boy found to be HIV positive at the age of three, probably as the result of a blood transfusion for an unrelated medical complaint.  Subsequently he has suffered a series of medical complications and is now too ill to go to school.   ACET Nireekshana offers him, and hundreds of other children like him, acceptance, compassionate care and the chance to enjoy life with birthday parties picnics and other special children’s activities organised by clinic staff and volunteers.

Dr Suneetha continued.

HIV and AIDS is feared every bit as much as leprosy once was.  There is still widespread ignorance, fear and stigma associated with it, but here at ACET Nireekshana we are determined to show the compassionate love of God to everyone who comes through our doors.

St Luke’s is keen to continue the link, with two members of the church, who have long standing links with the Hyderabad region, travelling out to India at the end of the year to see what has been achieved so far and explore future partnership.

For more information on ACET India click here