Link ART Centre - and Roshni

The Thane ART centre has now registered 10,000 patients with HIV. That is a remarkable number.

6,000 of these patients are on 'live treatment' - which means that they have been started on the Anti-Retroviral Therapy for their HIV. The government provides the medications free (an excellent use of our tax-payers money by the way) and also provides CD4 tests at 6 monthly intervals.

The catch?

There are 3 doctors who service these 6,000 patients. Its little wonder that there are complaints about the service. When we visited to meet the main official, we peeked in and saw one medical officer wearing a mask - and another turned away looking at a wall.

The CD4 machine is also not fully operational. The procurement for vaccu-tainers and needles for the HIV testing has been bungled - so many who need to be tested have not.

This is the government set up. And this too in a fairly forward state, in a fairly advanced city, with a fairly well-funded programme to boot.

This is where we would like to help out.

We are applying to become a 'Link-ART' centre.

Among the 6,000 HIV positive people getting their ART meds from the Thane ART centre - are 120 who we follow up in our home-based care teams. We would like to start with looking after these 120. With medicines from the government.

Its a start.

We have not been giving free ART from JSK (though many would have liked it) because we know that if a person with HIV who has been getting meds from us needs to go to another place - the govt. ART centres will not accept him/her since they were taking it from a 'private' (i.e. not-government) source.

As a policy, we have thus been encouraging our Positive Friends to get their meds from the govt. And most have done so.

Becoming a Link-ART centre means that we are partnering with the Govt. ART programme. Patients who come to us will be given their monthly stock at our clinic. Our doctors will monitor the patients' progress in the monthly visits. Our home-based care team will check their adherence (which the govt. does not do) and provide encouragement and counselling in the home-visits. And if a person decides to move - we will be able to transfer their ART treatment to the nearest govt. ART centre to their new location.

We would expect that about 100 or so of our 120 Positive Friends getting their ART from the Thane ART centre would choose to get their treatment from us if given the option. This would mean an immediate upswing in the number of patients that Drs. Sheba and Marise will be seeing. Currently very few of them come regularly to our clinic - because they are already giving 1 day a month to visit the govt. ART centre.

And then...

I think that currently we have the capacity to see about 500 or so people who are taking ART treatment. It would mean a huge challenge for our home-based care team as they will need to follow up so many more - but I think it is possible. And I believe that we must go forward.

Each life is so precious. And we have the luxury of being able to actually spend time with our HIV Positive Friends - instead of what they currently experience - a brief glance and then being sent off to pick up their meds.

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Case in point:

Sheba met Roshni day before yesterday. Sheba had gone with one of the home-based care teams to meet a Positive Friend in Kalwa - when who should she see but Roshni.

Roshni's mother had died when she was a baby. Her father married again. The new wife couldn't stand Roshni. She was placed in a Catholic orphanage in town.

Somewhere along the line Roshni got HIV. When she was 16 she left the orphanage to try and make a life. Her father brought her to us. We got her into a 2 year programme for women and children affected by HIV (in Roshni's case she was both!).

Then we lost track.

Sheba went into Roshni's room. A tiny slum shack. She is back to staying with an aunt. After the 2 year programme, Roshni went to a Bible school for a year. For some reason she has returned. Things are not well. Lots of arguements. Roshni is tired of it all.

Sheba asked her about her medications.

Roshni stopped taking the ART meds 2 months ago. Her aunt says that she goes each month to the Thane Civil hospital and picks up her bottles. But these last two months she has not taken anything. The bottles remain unopened. Rs. 2400 worth of tax-payer money. But even more than that - a precious 2 months where the virus could have continued to be keep at bay through the meds.

After talking with her - Roshni agreed to come and meet us on Monday. She agreed to start taking her ART meds again.

Why had she come out of her home just as Sheba and the team (who did not know her) were passing by?

Roshni's kitten had got out of the house - and Roshni had emerged from the shack to find the kitten - which is when she saw Sheba.

A God-incidence. One of the many we experience.

From the point of view of the ART centre in town - however - Roshni is a regular patient. She comes on time and takes her meds.

Only she does not. Or at least did not for the last 2 months.

There is so much of who we are that depends on our relationships with each other. Roshni's unhappy situation at home - her insecurity about what will happen next - has been acted out by her refusing to take meds for the last 2 months. Its just so much more than just giving a person a bottle of pills - and expecting them to be taken automatically - even if they are as vital and life-saving a treatment as ART.

We trust that we will be able to start her back again. It will take further follow-up. And prayer. And practical love.

What a privilege to serve.

We have been told that we may be able to start our Link-ART centre by the end of this month. Lets see that it happens...

Lily

Sheba met her this morning.

At the age of 9 this girl has experienced more than most will in a life time.

Her mother was a prostitute. She was living with another woman who was also in the 'trade.' As a baby her mother abandoned little Lilly (not her real name of course) and went to live a man.

The other woman has since stopped being a prostitute. A large fat woman - she brought Lily into our clinic today. This woman is now working to help women like her leave the misery of prostitution.

She still lives in the area though. Her house is used as a church too. She has put her faith in Jesus and is also fostering 2 other kids.

Lily is not fat. She is very thin. She has been falling ill repeatedly. She has come for an HIV test.

Besides the virus - which we suspect has been in her body since she was born - Lily has also experienced other corrosive things. People in the area know that her mother left her. They callously keep reminding her about it.

How much longer will Lily live? Its an open question. We hope to start her on treatment soon.

Her foster-mother is a remarkable lady. There is hope. Lily is a brave girl. But it is hard.

That's why we are here. Meeting little girls like Lily are well worth a Saturday morning.

Concern for our Justice(s)

The most powerful man in India - according to the Indian Express annual power survey - is Justice S.H. Kapadia, the Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India.

The reason they give for choosing a man virtually unkown to the man on the street is simple. Justice Kapadia and the Supreme Court is expected to further rock the government in the coming year:

"At a time when so much of Politics is being determined by judicial pronouncements and even observations - related to headline-grabbing court cases, the number one judge and the court he runs have become the country's most influential arbiter... The apex court has never been as hugely crucial in determining policy and politics as in recent times."

As an example of the honorable justice's sway they have this morsel:
Power Punch - He took less than a minute to decide, after hearing lengthy arguments, that the Allahabad High Court's verdict on the Ayodhya Title suit must be pronounced; threats of violence could not be an excuse.

We are grateful that we have a system of law in our beloved country of India. But for years we have been looking to our courts to do things that they should not be - giving our country leadership.

It is for our elected leaders to draw up policies and implement them. Our courts should at most be providing checks and balances. The judiciary should make sure that what is being done is according to the constitution and be a place where the abuses of power can be addressed.

Over the years, however, so much of our elected leadership has not really been doing what we elected them for. At best they have been timidly reacting to situations (esp. since so many corruption scandals are bubbling away) and it has been increasingly activist courts who are implementing many areas which the executive should be doing. I am all for clean cities - but it should be the Delhi government, not the Delhi High Court who makes the policy decision - and implements it - that all public buses should run of CNG.

And so it is especially disturbing to read the justification of a recent Supreme Court decision to uphold the commuting of the death sentence of Dara Singh by the Orissa High Court.

Let me say here something very clearly. I do not want Dara Singh to be hanged. I am against the death penalty in principle.

I will also say that Graham Staines was a personal friend of my parents - though I don't think I ever met him. My parents knew him well - and are especially close to his widow Gladys. His murder in January 1999 was a very sad day for us as a family. Sheba and I have had the deep privilege of meeting Gladys Staines. The whole world knows about her courageous and Jesus-loving stance of forgiving her husband and sons' murderers. Hanging Dara Singh will not bring the three back to earth.

There is, however, deep cause for concern about the rationale given for the recent supreme court decision.

Listen to how the Times of India reported:

While upholding the life sentence awarded to Bajrang Dal activist Dara Singh for the 1999 killings, a Bench said on Friday: “In the case on hand, though Graham Staines and his two minor sons were burnt to death while they were sleeping inside a station wagon at Manoharpur, the intention was to teach a lesson to Graham Staines about his religious activities, namely, converting poor tribals to Christianity.”

The Bench of Justices P. Sathasivam and B.S. Chauhan went on to add: “It is undisputed that there is no justification for interfering in someone's belief by way of ‘use of force', provocation, conversion, incitement or upon a flawed premise that one religion is better than the other. It strikes at the very root of the orderly society, which the founding fathers of our Constitution dreamt of.”

This is chilling stuff.

Lets unpack it a bit. If you read what our most august Justices are saying - you hear this:

1. Graham Staines and his sons were sleeping while they died.
Hardly. Eye witnesses talk about them being prevented from escaping from the burning jeep while the mob shouted "Bajrang Bali Zindabad" and "Dara Singh Zindabad"

2. That they were being 'taught a lesson'.
You get the distinct impression that the hon'ble justices are agreeing with what was meted out on the Staines.

3. here is 'no justification' for 'interfering in some one's belief' -
well then... there is every justification for doing the most horrible things to prevent such 'interference.'

4. 'Interfering in someone's belief' can be done through a wonderfully mixed bag of: use of force, incitement, conversion and 'a flawed premise that one religion is better than the other'

Wow.

This strikes to the core of what it means to be an Indian. We may not be comfortable with the faiths of our fellow Indians - but they have the right to believe that they are correct - and even better than my own faith.

Article 25 of our Constitution guarantees all persons freedom of conscience and the right to preach, practice and propagate any religion of their choice.

Lets take an example.

I am not a vegetarian - I support the rights of vegetarians to propagate their beliefs - including those who are vegetarians for religious reasons. I support their right and the exercise of this right to try and convert me to vegetarianism. They have the right to feel superior to me if they want to. That is what freedom of conscience means.

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The saving grace so far is that after the judgement was published - an outcry ensued. Papers published the story immediately. Our 'civil society' swung into action. A joint statement by the editors of leading newspapers across the country demanded that the remarks be 'expunged.'

They were.

The Supreme Court acted sou moto and replaced the remarks with other ones. If you are interested you can read a reaction to this by John Dayal of the AICC.

What troubles me are two things:

1. The initial remarks by our Supreme Court Judges reveal that at the highest level of our judiciary we have a deeply anti-freedom agenda. I believe that these remarks reveal how much of our decisions are made. It is no wonder that various mobs (often the 'rent-a-riot' variety) continue to intimidate groups of people who are praying to Jesus across our country. The police - if they do come - usually detain the victims rather than the perpetrators.

2. The way that remarks can be 'expunged.' Though I am glad that the Supreme Court toned down the comments - what does it say about the processes of how judicial decisions are made and communicated? If tomorrow all the papers are outraged about something - for the wrong reasons - will the court rewrite its reasons? Though the most grevious words have been knocked out - the overall taste of the whole episode is pretty sour.

Plus, the replacement wording hardly does justice...

"In the case on hand, though Graham Staines and his two minor sons were burnt to death while they were sleeping inside a station wagon at Manoharpur, the intention was to teach a lesson to Graham Staines about his religious activities, namely, converting poor tribals to Christianity."

has been replaced with:

“However, more than 12 years have elapsed since the act was committed, we are of the opinion that the life sentence awarded by the High Court need not be enhanced in view of the factual position discussed in the earlier paragraphs,"

and

We hope Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of religion playing a positive development integrating into a prosperous nation will be realized. "It is undisputed that there is no justification for interfering in someone's belief by way of use of force, provocation, conversion, incitement or upon a flawed premise that one religion is better than the other."

has been replaced with:

"There is no justification for interfering in someone's religious belief by any means."

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But then again - this is hardly new stuff...

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. Mark 15.15

Cry the beloved country.

Friends

I can still see them in my mind's eye.

The big strapping traffic policeman. The thin frail bearded man next to him.

They were standing outside the JSK clinic at the end of a day.

They had been friends in college.

Manish (not his real name of course) - the thin man - has HIV. His wife died of the disease. He has a teen-age daughter and a young son.

Manish is from Nagpur. He had started ART medicines from the govt. hospital there. A month ago he got into an argument with his brother's family. He told them that he could look after himself. He had lots of friends in Bombay.

And so he came to the big city.

Manish has been invovled in the film industry. He used to write songs. Sing them too.

Now he has TB.

He got a letter transferring his ART from Nagpur to Mumbai. But the Mumbai ART centres refused to honour it. Because Manish does not have a home. A permanent place to stay.

And he really does not.

Manish did stay with friends. But it was harder than he thought. The good pals from before were far less than he remembered. The good times had dried up.

Frustrated and alone he was brought to JSK. He brought two cloth bags with him. Slightly frayed. Everything he owned at this point.

Over the day he was with us we talked to Manish. His friend in Ulhasnagar - the last place he was staying - had left town. He had nowhere to go back to.

We talked to Manish.

We talked about going back home. About starting again on his ART. About starting on TB treatment. We talked about him getting a ticket to Nagpur the next morning. We talked about being linked up with ACCEPT - folks who were doing work like us in Nagpur

He was going to go and stay at the railway station for the night. One of our male staff was willing to stay with Manish at the JSK centre instead.

Then Manish's police friend answered the calls he had been giving him. The big strapping policeman came over to the centre to pick him up and put Manish up for the night.

I left the centre with the two college mates standing next to each other. Talking.

What twists our lives take. Who is finally ready to help when help is really needed.

A friend in need - is a friend in deed! Indeed!

Space dreams

Technology will save the day.

In the late 70s I spent a vacation voraciously reading old copies of Popular Science magazines from the 60s. They had articles telling about what would happen in the future - complete with illustrations of planetary colonization and various other utopias.

Technology - and specifically space travel for humans - was going to make it all possible.

As a kid I keenly followed the 'space shuttle' programme - delighted at the idea of a craft that would go up on a rocket - circle the earth - and then return penetrating the atmosphere before gliding to a landing on earth.

All that changed 25 years ago. The space shuttle "Challenger" exploded. A 'routine' launch on a clear day - watched by millions. Seven astronauts obliterated in the eerie silence and white vapour and smoke 73 seconds after their craft had left the earth.


I was not one of those who saw the unexpected horror on TV - but the pictures made their way out to my 11th grade class at Woodstock School soon enough. It was particularly poignant since one of the crew members was a school teacher who had been selected for the mission through a rigorous and highly publicised selection process.

This was not supposed to happen.

We were close to the end of the cold war (how close to the collapse of the USSR was not known to us then) but the Americans with their spiffy and squeaky-clean space programme (lots of gleaming white as I recall - while the Soviets always seemed grey and grimy) were being touted as the saviours of the world.

A whole industry has emerged - with multiple theories about what went wrong in the Challenger explosion. Most focus on the infamous 'o-rings' - rubber rings whose characteristics changed at sub-freezing temperatures. The concerns of some of the engineers involved seem to have been over-ridden by the management in their desire to get the mission into space a.s.a.p.



What the accident did was to start to pull the plug on the shiny-happy optimism of space flight. The plug finally got pulled when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry in 2003. To make the matter even more piognant - this mission had another charismatic lady on board - the Indian-born Kalpana Chawla - whose story had inspired millions of girls about what possibilities they could achieve.

Barring some completely game-changing space technology - I really do not see much manned-flight off our planet (even over to our own lunar satellite) in the next 50 years or so. Maybe a prestige shot by China in about 20 years from now - but little else. The costs seem to high - both in terms of the sheer massiveness of the whole endeavour - as well as the human costs. After losing 14 astronauts in the two shuttle disasters - the Americans and others have busily sent robotic vehicles into space - and that is where I think it will remain for the next half century at least.

Pity. At the base of it all is the romance of thinking of leaving this planet and moving somewhere else.

Technology was supposed to take us there. Something got 'bugged-up' along the way.

A quarter century ago an almost beautiful plume of white vapour on a clear blue sky marked an end of a certain kind of wide-eyed-innocence.

Our dear planet earth. Looks like we are going to be here for a lot longer than some had hoped.

Mukteshwar

A quarter century ago a few young lads played a version of Pink Floyd's classic 'Comfortably Numb" in Parker Hall of Woodstock School. On other occasions - playing under the name of Silmarillion - the fellows cranked out covers of Kansas and Petra anthems. I was a year below these tunesters.

One the fellows continued in music - and in exploring a faith devoted to Jesus Christ - and expressing his following of Christ within various Indian devotional traditions.

Chris Hale is the man in question - and over the last decade he and Peter Hicks have formed the core of Aradhna. Their new album Namaste Saté has just been released and here is a track from it called Mukteshwar.

Be blessed.




Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy
Those who are poor in this world
Blessed are they, blessed are they
For the kingdom of heaven is theirs
Blessed are they, blessed are they
They who mourn in this world, will have peace
The meek in this world, will rule
Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy
Those whose hearts are pure in this world will see God
Those who make peace will be called the children of God - Sri Yeshu Ji

50 years of the German School Mumbai!

This evening was a special treat for me.

I got to stroll through one of my schools. It turns out that it is the youngest of them all. The Deutsche Schule Bombay (DSB) was founded primarily to meet the needs of German-speaking ex-patriates in 1961. My other schools Cathedral and Woodstock turned 100 last year and 157 respectively, while my universities of Taylor and Yale are blushingly 157 and 300 plus years old. So the DSB is the spring chicken of the lot!

The school has changed dramatically in some ways - it now is mainly English speaking and caters to many different nationalities - but most of the classes are still held in the charming little building next to the old American Consulate on Warden Road.

It was charming to see where Stefan, Premi and myself had been formed in so many ways. The teachers at DSB were top-notch - pouring themselves into us. There were not many of us to pour into - my class was a 'big class' of 7 students in those days - the class below me had all of 4 students. But how we benefitted from their attention. The names of Herr Meister, Frau Doongaji, Herr Heuser, Herr Keuhne, Herr Fischer, Herr Ranft, Frau Chraiath, Herr Sipple still fill me with a great wave of thanksgiving.

I was hoping to meet one of these legends at the School Fair, but was stunned to meet - of all people the hale and hearty bear of a man - Herr Guenther Pankoke and his wife Frau Pankoke. Here he was - larger than life - a man of 80 years old and full of the same joy as he had been when he kindly admitted us into the DSB 31 years ago!

Herr Andi Eicher, Herr Pankoke, Frau Christa Eicher und Frau Pankoke - at the 50th Anniversary School Fair

Herr and Frau Pankoke have continued coming to India - especially to keep up the long-term relationships they have with local charities such as Mobile Creches. This year they plan to add a trip to Arunachal Pradesh to their itinerary!

What do I remember most from my years at the DSB?

Obviously there was the initial shock of coming to such a luxurious school (air-conditioning in the early 80s...) and having the odd teacher who smoked in school (the odd student too - it was not banned officially - but there was a strong peer pressure not to smoke).

Since German is my mother's tongue - while my mother-tongue is English - it too a long time for us to get up to speed with the medium of instruction. But immersion helps. Within a year we were being graded with the others (special patience for us in the subject of German however - I always did poorly in that).

What stands out is the joy our teachers had in teaching. I still remember Herr Meister's history classes. Herr Heuser taking us into the mysteries of the DNA. Frau Doongaji in her elegant way unravelling the mysteries of art and music (and drilling French into my unwilling head). How much any of my teachers will remember me - I do not know - but on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the DSB I am just so grateful for their inputs into this person-who-I-am.

Herzlichen Dank!