Pragati Learning Site
“I have worked as a peer educator for a number of years, but I really enjoyed my visit to Pragati and learnt so much. I hope to utilize my learning for my community in Chennai” Santhi, Chennai.

HIV programmes have been implemented for over a decade in several parts of the Karnataka. A variety of organizations and the government have been involved and yet, is it possible that there is still something to be learnt?

As times have changed, so has our understanding of HIV interventions and there remains the ongoing need for exchange of ideas, cross learning and capacity building. As NACP III implementation gathers momentum, many organizations, CBOs as well as NGOs are seeking a wide range of support.

Swathi Mahila Sangha is a collective of women in sex work formed in 2003. They have been working with Swasti since 2005 in implementing Pragati project, an empowerment initiative for women in sex work. Addressing the issues of HIV prevention within a framework of complete well being, the project has been developed as a learning site over the past two years.

40 learning sessions have been conducted from Oct '07 to May ‘09; with a total of 544 persons have come to the Site. These sessions include the following :

• 16 ½-day sessions
• 4 1-day sessions
• 6 2-day sessions
• 9 3-day sessions

These sessions were conducted by community and non-community staff of Pragati project. Subjects covered varied from outreach planning, cisis management, micro finance initiatives, strengthening of CBOs etc. Learners came from a wide range of organizations; NACO and SACS representatives, community members from at least four different states to international programme and technical professionals. Apart from handling varied levels of participants, the Pragati learning site has conducted sessions in multiple languages. Customisation of the subject based on the needs of the participants has been successfully for each session. These sessions have been a unique opportunity to share experiences gained by Pragati project and at the same time, introspect and receive feedback.

Materials for communication and to facilitate exchange of ideas were also developed during this time, such as fact sheets, collection of case studies, audio-visuals and films.

So far, all the sessions have been conducted in Bangalore, but the team is now looking to visit organizations in other locations, within and outside the State, to provide support. Pragati learning site invites community groups and professionals to visit and begin a dialogue on strengthening the fight against HIV.