One of the trustees of The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, Mr. Bill Gates, and his family visited a health clinic dedicated for the red light area of Budhwar Peth in Pune city on 6th October 2008. The clinic provides clinical services to about 45-50 patients daily, including commercial sex workers and MSMs (Men seeking Men) and it also addresses their concerns and queries of HIV Prevention and Care. The clinic is part of a program sponsored by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The visit was a technical in nature, Mr. Gates, and his family including his wife Melinda Gates, the father Mr. William H. Gates Gates, who is the chairperson of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Gates sisters; all are part of The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation paid a very low profile and personal visit to the red light area of Budhwar Peth, in Pune. The Gates family visited there and spent an hour with commercial sex workers at the read light area of Budhward Peth. Mr.Bill Gates appreciated the work of local NGO, ‘Vanchit Vikas’(Development of Deprived: Uplift of deprived women and children). Mr.Bill Gates expressed his admiration for the good-work done by the volunteers of the NGO, including CSWs. The CSWs were surprisingly delighted to see the sponsor of the program addressing them at their place.
The visit was carefully kept a secret and it took all by surprise. The police, public officials, high-ranking officials dealing with HIV Prevention and Care programs; they all had no news of the visit. In fact, the officials of city based NGO was informed only an hour before the actual visit. Bill and Melinda Gates foundation started its operation in India in 2003 and has committed over $200 million to HIV prevention in India, its largest commitment to the projects in any country.
During the interactions with patients and the beneficiaries of the project, Gates family tried to know whether their sponsored project was on its way to meet its objectives.
The visit came as immense social support for the group of commercial sex workers, the most discriminated against group of people in India. Mr. Gates expressed foundation’s commitment and support to the programs run against HIV/AIDS.
The residents of the Budhawar Peth had never heard of Bill Gates, and the crowd gathered during the visit of Bill Gates was wondering who the man was. The whisper in the crowd was “there is no Shahrukh, he is someone called Gate or Colgate”
Learn more about the foundation: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx
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