Mithra Foundation
India
| Health/Medical
More information
Mithra Foundation, is a grassroot non governmental organisation based in Trichy district of Tamil Nadu. Mithra works within Tiruchirappali District in Tamil Nadu. With the emergence of HIV/AIDS in this area, the wider District is particularly vulnerable to the spread of HIV/AIDS. Similarly, due to its close proximity to Trichy city as a major market, pilgrim and tourist centre, with its easy access by road, rail and air links, there is a need to contain and support HIV/AIDS issues in the area so that HIV/AIDS does not spread beyond its current borders. Villagers currently living with HIV/AIDS in the target area live below the poverty line (on less than 50p per day), are mostly illiterate, have intermittent or no access to paid employment and own little or no land of their own. Mithra Foundation’s Care and Support Scheme holds monthly meetings with villagers and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) where participants express their personal health problems and community grievances which has drawn attention to the socio-economic and informational needs required to be addressed by Mithra. Mithra team members visit ART centres in Trichy and gather information from HIV+ve individuals seeking ART therapy.Government sponsored Health Camps have also helped villagers identify their health problems and the needs to be addressed. In addition Mithra pays special attention to children both infected and affected by HIV who face stigma and discrimination in schools they study in or from their extended families and immediate community that they live in.
