Situated in the dust and grime, Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar is a haven for truck drivers and commercial sex workers: a community highly prone to sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. A small but meaningful initiative has brought the sleepy township on the outskirts of Delhi alive. Roshni Sengupta reports.
A narrow, dusty road, lined by mammoth trucks; a slew of dirt tracks slithering into the vast conundrum of matchbox hutments and multi-storied constructions mauled by the elements; soot-covered mechanics shovelling away at their machines; large vehicles under repair letting out smoke every now and then; and red-lipped, bejewelled day-time sex workers soliciting customers around decrepit, run-down dhabas. SGTN (Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar) – the largest trans-shipment hub in Asia – seems literally to be the fag end of the urban sprawl that the city of Delhi has turned out to be—perhaps, the end of civilization for most of us.
To top it all, the battered truck drivers who lead nomadic lives away from their families, abused and harassed by the police and other authorities repeatedly, are prone to high-risk sexual behaviour, catapulting the community into an STD (sexually transmitted disease)-HIV/AIDS bracket. Not only that, rag picker-turned-commercial sex workers, unable to make ends meet, arguably become carriers of the virus. Both these communities, independently and otherwise, are the worst affected by STI (sexually transmitted infections) and diseases.
But as the cliché goes, every cloud has a silver lining. SGTN’s silver lining emerged from behind the dark clouds in the year 2000 as a concerted effort by one of India’s biggest tyre manufacturer and a known NGO (non-governmental organization) lent a helping hand to the colony, till then left alone to fend for itself and its sick. The Apollo Tyre Health Care Centre was established by the Apollo Dealer and Consumer Welfare Trust, an offshoot of Apollo Tyres, in collaboration with DFID (Department for International Development, Government of UK) with the specific aim of reaching out to the STI-affected people in SGTN.
‘The number of patients in the initial three to six months was few. It crept up to about 12–14 patients coming to the clinic with STI complaints. Today, about 20–30 affected people come to us daily,’ explains Ravi Remy, the administrative pointsman, in simpler terms, the project coordinator. Interestingly, STI-infected patients are most susceptible to an onslaught from the dreaded HIV/AIDS virus, concurs Dr Brighu Kapuria, the virologist stationed at the clinic working in tandem with another medical doctor. ‘Fifty per cent to 55% of our patients are truck drivers. Our first patients used to be shy and would not talk openly about their problem. Now, things have changed, thanks to the good work that our peer educators are doing,’ opines Dr Kapuria when questioned about the profile of patients and their behaviour.
Meena (name changed to protect the identity of the patient) – a commercial sex worker who averts her gaze and says she works at the local STD booth – was apprehensive about the centre and its benefits at the outset. Coaxed and cajoled by tireless volunteers after she contracted an infection and was in considerable pain, Meena now professes undying gratitude towards the educators and doctors at the clinic. ‘I will be forever grateful to everyone here. Not only was I cured within a week, the counsellor advised me to take certain precautions which have been more than beneficial to me,’ she gushes.
‘I contracted an infection after an encounter with a sex worker some seven months back and suffered for a week before my acquaintance informed me about this place where I could get treated for a meagre 30 rupees. I can’t thank the clinic enough and am planning to bring my boss in very soon,’ narrated Manish (name changed to protect the identity of the patient)—a tale of debilitating despair and wondrous hope for the helper who had all but given up. The health centre charges the patients a sum of 30 rupees, which includes registration, counselling, treatment, and medication for a period of three months. Says Vijay Shankar, a counsellor with the centre, ‘The fact that the patient pays makes him inclined to respect the advice that we give him. For instance, if he receives condom samples from us, he makes sure he uses them as he has paid for them.’
Operating in consonance with CARE India, an NGO involved with community and capacity building, the Apollo Tyres Health Centre is among the first of its kind in Delhi – one such health centre is already functional in Udaipur with another initiative coming up in Kanpur – dealing specifically with STI cases with a proper hospital referral system in place. Once the pre-test counselling is conducted, the patient is put through medical examinations. In case of an advanced problem such as an HIV infection, he/she is referred to hospitals for further treatment. According to Remy, since February 2005, close to 15 HIV-positive patients have been referred to nearby hospitals.
‘Our outreach workers trained and prepared the peer educators – picked from within the locality – to spread awareness, both about the STD-HIV/AIDS and the existence of the centre. They have done a commendable job,’ corroborates Sunita Prasad from CARE India who has been working with the outreach staff and capacity builders in the field. Anyone can be a peer educator. From the local dhabawali to the greasing shop owner, the community is fully involved and it shows. Says Bala, a spirited woman peer educator who runs a small dhaba frequented both by truck drivers and commercial sex workers, ‘Women usually come here after 9 o’clock at night. Most of them complain of having been forced into flesh trade due to abusive husbands. Initially, they were very shy to talk about their private lives. But I can tell you by experience that the awareness levels have grown. We have put up a condom box behind the dhaba.’ She was also forthcoming in informing the author that her initiative in bringing women together and talking to them collectively gave them a sense of security. They can see the silver lining now!
There are, however, those who have gone through tough times breaking the ice. ‘Some people just refuse to listen. We then fall back on live demonstrations for condom use. I used to spend hours trying to convince people; now they come to me with their problems. And we have help at hand in the form of the health centre,’ beamed Akash, a nearby greasing facility owner who has worked as a peer educator for four years now. The community barber, Sanjay Thakur too has taken up the cudgels against HIV/AIDS and assisted by the health centre workers has succeeded in capturing an audience of his own. ‘I usually talk to my customers while on the job. Being the only barber in the vicinity, all kinds of people come to me,’ claims Thakur.
The jump in enthusiasm levels is palpable. Red condom boxes break the black and grey of the grimy locale. Outreach volunteers park themselves at various spots so that a good number of people could be covered. One such volunteer shared a secret with the author. He said the red colour of the kiosk – with a wide-ranging spread of pamphlets and information brochures in the local language – was a big attraction for the truckers and the sex workers.
Social marketing of the condoms is also being undertaken by the health centre and the associated NGOs. ‘The use of condoms needs to be constantly monitored as free distribution could also lead people to not use it ultimately. Condom sales have gone up a few notches in this area whereas the national sales figures have dropped,’ underlines Sunita Prasad. Intervention by these committed citizens has gone a long way in converting carefree transporters and indifferent union leaders into peer educators and volunteers.
A quiet revolution is thus afoot in the dirt roads of SGTN. By catering to the medical needs of the most vulnerable sections of the populations, the Apollo Tyres Health Centre and its associates have given corporate social responsibility a whole new meaning. What can we take out of this story? Well, perhaps a leaf out of their book!
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