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Rarely has an article in Scientific American brought tears to my eyes, but this one did so more than once. Among the poor prostitutes of Sonagachi, India, a new project has found a way to slash the incidence of HIV to a twelfth of what it is in other cities: organizing sex workers as any other labor collective. Started purely as a health measure by Smarajit Jana, other outcomes include bank loans, schooling for children, literacy training for adults, and reproductive health care and the virtual elimination of trafficking of women in the locale. The story is touching on so many levels to me: the contrast between this empowerment approach and many other social service programs, the manner in which the founder planned his own obsolescence, and the sheer hope that this has brought to 60,000 women and their children.
Posted: 4/25/06; 10:36:28 AM # |
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