XIM-Bhubaneswar Starts State Training & Resource Centre in Partnership with NACO & OSACS

XIM-Bhubaneswar Starts State Training & Resource Centre in Partnership with NACO & OSACS

Right since its inception in 1987, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) has consistently strived to contribute to the progress of the State of Orissa. It is, perhaps, in continuation of this endeavour that XIM-B has become a State Training & Resource Centre (STRC),

in partnership with National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and Orissa State AIDS Control Society (OSACS). In doing so, XIM-B has become the first management institution in India to undertake such a project.

In August 2007, XIM-B had conducted the Leadership & Managerial Proficiency (LAMP) programme, which was a certificate-level course attempting to build the personal and professional capacity of HIV-positive individuals. At the same time, this course also helped XIM-B play a major role in mainstreaming HIV. The faculty and their family members, students and staff of XIM-B were highly sensitised, along with 30 partner organisations, which provided field learning support to the participants of the programme. The programme provided the students of XIM-B with an invaluable opportunity to interact with its participants.

Taking this venture forward, XIM-B has started functioning as an STRC for the State of Orissa. The STRC is jointly co-ordinated by Prof. S. Peppin and Prof. M. N. Tripathi. It will work in partnership with NACO, OSACS and various other NGOs. Training programmes will be conducted so that the participants can act as trainers and facilitators for Targeted Interventions (TIs) amongst High Risk Groups (HRGs). Participants will be sourced from members of the partner organisations. Members of HRGs and even former participants of the LAMP programme will act as consultants for the STRC.

The goal of the programmes operated by the STRC will be to train the participants in helping prevent the spread of HIV / AIDS with the active participation of the target community, inspite of the seemingly large challenges faced by such initiatives today. The programme will also aim to help develop a sense of passion and a certain level of commitment to the task at hand, amongst the participants. Overall, the objective would be to create an atmosphere conducive to both, learning and unlearning, as the case may be. The participants passing out of these programmes would go on to become consultants for implementation of TIs amongst the target groups like Female Sex Workers, Men having Sex with Men, Injecting Drug Users, and migrant truckers and labourers.

It is hoped that such initiatives will go a long way in spreading the sensitisation towards HIV-positive individuals, among the community at large. In that sense, surely, this is a positive step in the right direction.

Concluded.

Contributed by -
Dinah J. Rodrigues,
Coordinator, IlluminatiX,
Media & PR Cell,
Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar.

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