Divine Initiative: Temple Spreads AIDS Awareness

This article from Beta NDTV online is about a temple priest at the Guga Mari temple in Chandigarh, India. As detailed here, every weekend after the morning prayers, a special session to create awareness on HIV/AIDS has taken place for the past two years, and now, free testing is also being provided at a new laboratory run by the temple. The lab, staffed with doctors and funded by the temple, is equipped to carry out hundreds of tests every month. If a person tests positive for HIV/AIDS, help is also provided towards his or her treatment.


According to this article, religious places are being used to spread awareness about HIV and AIDS. Pandit Kishori Lal of the Guga Mari temple reports telling people that there should be medical tests at regular intervals and that it is essential to get tests done for HIV and other viral diseases because treatment is the only way to keep the body healthy. Dr. Avnish Jolly, who is the Lab In-charge, states that this will also help people shed the stigma related to HIV.