Snehadaan Learning Site
The quote “Nearly all the best things that come to life are unexpected and unplanned” fairly suits the work rendered by Snehadaan.

What began as a rehabilitation centre for the marginalized sick has now turned into a community care centre for People Living with HIV. This transformation was not planned. It came about gradually when an increasing number of PLHIV started approaching them.

Snehadaan is a Community Care Center for People Living with HIV administered by the Order of the Ministers of the Sick, popularly known as Camillians, a religious institute founded by St. Camillus de Lellis which is an international faith based organisation. Snehadaan was started in 1997 as the first health care initiative of Camillians in India, who decided to take up the cause of caring for the HIV infected as their primary focus. In 2003, the Camillians established the Sneha Charitable Trust® to coordinate the HIV/AIDS care initiatives in India.

Snehadaan is a pioneering centre for providing care and support to PLHIV and training of health care personnel in the HIV/ AIDS care field. Over the last decade, Snehadaan has come to be known as a quality care provider for PLHIV rendering holistic care. The approaches to care, support and treatment initiated by the Centre are recognized as a comprehensive manner of dealing with the disease and this encompasses critical aspects like continuum of care and palliative care.

Snehadaan enjoys a unique position as a pioneer in the field of care, support and treatment of PLHIV. It is identified as a learning site under USAID Samastha Project. The learning site aims to provide a platform for cross learning and sharing of concepts and approaches which many a time are washed away as individual memories. These individual memories are captured and transformed into institutional memory, guiding other centers to follow a path which has made them unique in their line of work.

As part of the learning site initiative, Snehadaan coordinates other Community Care Centers in Karnataka, hosts and guides institutions and professionals in the process of sharpening their skills and knowledge in providing comprehensive and compassionate care to PLHIV and provides inputs for strategic planning of care initiatives. The site offers trainings on the following components -Medical, Nursing Care, Counseling, OVC, Programme Management etc.

Learning products such as fact sheets, case compendiums, films etc are also developed to aid and facilitate the learning. Medical Officers, Nurses, Counselors, Outreach Workers from other Community Care Centers have undergone trainings at the site. The site customises the trainings and workshops based on the needs of the participants. The uniqueness of these trainings is the hands-on approach, focusing not just on the technical aspects, but also on quality of care, holistic approach and attitudinal change through interactions with patients.