雪泥鴻爪在天竺（三）
我的碩士論文題目是討論在阿姆達巴得的商業性工作者（妓女）當中開展的愛滋病干預計劃的效果。這包括整理和比較已由慈善團體收集的數據，用以為數學模型提供參數，以估計被此干預計劃所預防了的愛滋病病例數。
推行這計劃的慈善機構是Jyoti Sangh。它在１９３４年，在聖雄甘地的支持下，由Mrudulaben Sarabhai創辦，以提倡婦女之福利與權益。今天，它的服務包括家庭輔導以及為貧困或智障的女童提供就業技能訓練等。
Jyoti Sangh的愛滋病干預計劃是由一隊社會工作者，在一群本身是性工作者的同伴教育參與者(peer educators)的協助下推行。他們在性工作者和嫖客當中宣傳有關性健康的知識，並向他們派發避孕套，鼓勵他們使用。另外，他們亦舉辦了兩間性病診所，每星期開一個下午，為有需要的人提供服務。
圖一：我與兩位同伴教育參與者在Jyoti Sangh辦公室合照
Figure
1: A photo of mine together with two peer educators taken in the office of Jyoti Sangh
My footprints
in
The
topic of my Master thesis is on the impact of an HIV intervention programme
amongst commercial sex workers in Ahmedabad. It involves organising and collating
data, which has already been collected by the charity, to provide parameters
for mathematical modelling which estimates the number of HIV cases averted by
the programme.
The
charity which implements this programme is Jyoti Sangh. It was founded in 1934 by Mrudulaben
Sarabhai with the blessing of Mahatma Gandhi to
promote the welfare and empowerment of women. Today its services include family
counselling and vocational training for underprivileged or mentally challenged
girls etc.
The HIV
intervention programme of Jyoti Sangh
involves a team of social workers, with the help of a group of peer educators
(who are sex workers themselves), to promote sexual health knowledge and condom
use amongst sex workers and their clients and to distribute condoms to them.
They also run two sexually-transmitted disease clinics, which open an afternoon
per week and provide free treatment to those in need. (To be continued)
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