DISHA (Deep Griha's Integrated Service for HIV & AIDS)
The Launch of the DMAV
In the late morning of the Monday 9 April a large crowd gathered outside the gates of Deep Griha Family Welfare Centre in order to witness the inauguration of the new Disha Mobile Awareness Vehicle.
After several months of preparation the DMAV was finally ready to be officially unveiled in all its glory immediately prior to its first road trip to the slums of Yeroda.
The launching ceremony opened with the DISHA team perfoming an acapella version of David Bowie's classic 'Space Oddity' followed by a short speech by Hans Billimoria on the DMAVS objectives and purpose - to provide condoms and contraceptives and workshops to help people use them properly. As Hans put it, " everybody in India is having sex. People just don't like to talk about it."
After this a spokesman from Global Media said a few words highlighting the importance of DISHAS work before cutting the ribbon to the DMAVS back door. To a mass of applause from the staff and volunteers of DGS, the DMAV with the stark logo of the four means of HIV contraction and the bold 'rejected' slogan set out to cause waves right across Pune.
