offering help and hope to individuals living with HIV/AIDS in
Gujarat India.
An American Partnership with Grace Chapel of Oshkosh
The severity of the AIDS epidemic has caused the Indian government to call on grass-roots organizations for assistance in combating the disease and caring for its afflicted citizens. Sushil Desai, a long-time friend of Grace Chapel and missionary in India, has responded by opening Hope Treatment Center.
Sushil
has recruited the help of Dr. A. A. John to oversee and operate the clinic
located in Nadiad, Gujarat State, India. Pastor Joe Grier and a team of
committed individuals from Grace Chapel have launched Hope Treatment Center USA,
Inc. to financially support the clinic.
Currently, a 2,000 square foot facility
has been leased and renovations are under way. Hope Treatment Center USA has successfully
raised $12,000 necessary to open the clinic, but is continuing to seek donations
to operate the clinic. Monthly operating expenses amount to $1,600.
In addition to a medical clinic, HTC has future plans that include an AIDS hospice, employment assistance and training for individuals who have lost their jobs because of HIV/AIDS, and an orphanage for children who have been severed from their families because of the disease.
Photo to the left is the exterior of the Hope Treatment Center in Nadiad, Gujarat State, India.
Bring help and hope to the children and adults afflicted with HIV/AIDS in India by sending a tax deductible gift for the Hope Treatment Center. Checks should be made to: Grace Chapel/Hope Treatment Center. If you have time or talents that could assist, please contact us.
Thank you for opening your heart to help others!
Messenger of Hope Newsletter
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THE LATEST NEWS! December 2007
October 2006 To see more photos from the renovation, click here!
Oshkosh pastor gets a firsthand look at an AIDS clinic in India
Dec. 2007
The "warm and fuzzy" season is here. Many of us will experience a holiday filled with a plethora of joy and pleasure. I think it's safe to say a lot of us are relatively safe living in Oshkosh and surrounding areas. One of our biggest concerns is just how bad will winter become. If that's our only worry we are fortunate indeed. The world, however, keeps chugging along and there are big time problems. One of those is the AIDS problem in nations like India.
Pastor Joe Grier of Grace Chapel in Oshkosh said he returned recently from a
visit to the Hope Treatment Center, an AIDS clinic in India, located in Nadiad,
a city of about 400,000 people. It's an AIDS clinic greatly supported
financially by Grace Chapel. Grier said the clinic not only helps those with
AIDS, but other health problems.
Grier, his wife, Gayle, and their son, Ethan, journeyed to Nadiad and the AIDS
clinic. Grier said the clinic has been three years in the making and celebrated
its first year anniversary in October.
"I'm extremely happy and excited about how things are going. Progress is far
greater than I thought at this point," he said.
He said an advertisement in a state run newspaper alerted residents of the AIDS
clinic and with it some interesting information on those who have used it.
AIDS, as it turns out, has no boundaries in India.
"There have been a lot of the calls from those in the middle and upper class,"
Grier said. "There was even a 12-year-old boy who called in and he had tested
positive for AIDS. He had visited his cousin in Bombay and had visited a
prostitute there with his cousins." Between 3.8 million and 4.6 million
people in India were infected with the HIV virus in 2002, according to
information from the United Nations. The population division of the United
Nations projects 12.3 million AIDS deaths in India between 2000 and 2015 and
49.5 million AIDS deaths in the country from 2015 to 2050.
Grier said he wanted to do something to help combat AIDS after reading a
magazine story. "I talked on the phone with a longtime friend of mine who
is a pastor in India and I asked him if there was a need for an AIDS clinic in
India. That's how it got started," Grier said. The cost is operate the
AIDS clinic in Nadiad, Grier said, is rising to about $3,000 to $4,000 a month.
Members of Grace Chapel have helped sponsor the AIDS clinic and Grier said he's
also talked to churches and service organizations in Oshkosh on their financial
assistance for the clinic.
"I've found a lot of willingness to help from the Oshkosh community," he said.
Doug Zellmer: (920) 426-6667 or dzellmer@thenorthwestern.com.
(by Doug Zellmer, Oshkosh Northwestern Newspaper)
Informational Video
Jun. 2006
An informational dvd about the Hope Treatment Center is finished. To receive a copy, call or email us. We'd love to send one to you. Click here to watch the the video online or download the mp4.
Great news from India
Dec. 2005
A down payment has been made on the lease of the building we will use for Hope Treatment Center (HTC). Sushil recently met with nine physicians from his area who are all interested in helping by donating time to the poor who come for help at HTC. One physician commented that he’s wanted to donate his time to help the poor but his financial obligations at his own clinic have kept him from doing so. Now that this clinic is available it enables him to do that. There were several retired nurses at this same meeting who will be donating their time as well.
Earlier that day, Sushil met with Christian leaders from their area to share with them the plans for the clinic. Seven leaders were scheduled to attend, but word got out and 65 showed up! The Christian community of Nadiad is very excited about this opportunity to serve and we look forward to their participation. One man gave Sushil an anonymous gift of 1,000 rupees on the spot, the equivalent of $20.00. For an Indian, this is a very generous gift and can equal a month’s wages.
Pastor Joe plans to visit India again to check on the progress of the clinic and to meet with the key people who have been working so hard in Nadiad to get it off the ground. Please pray for our future plans for the clinic, for the monthly financial support we will need and for good relationships in Nadiad with both the owner of the property and the government officials.
"Grace Raises Money...Oshkosh Church helps AIDS Clinic"
Sept. 2005
It's mission accomplished and then some. A total of $12,000 has been raised by members of Grace Chapel in Oshkosh for financial support to start the Hope Treatment Center. The congregation is helping set up the AIDS clinic through Emmanuel Fellowship, its sister congregation in India. Funding will be ongoing for years to cover expenses at the clinic, which will assist those who are HIV positive or have AIDS. The congregation initially wanted to set up an AIDS hospice in Oshkosh. However, they found that many of those with the disease in the Fox Valley are already receiving adequate care. The need is much greater in India, where the disease is rampant. India had between 3.8 and 4.6 million people infected with the HIV virus in 2002, according to information from the United Nations. The population division of the United Nations projects 12.3 million AIDS deaths in India between 2000 and 2015 and 49.5 million AIDS deaths in the country from 2015 to 2050.
(excerpted from the Oshkosh Northwestern Newspaper)