CHENNAI: A motorcycle rally “Ride for Rights” will be held on the eve of the World AIDS Day on December 1.
The rally, organised by an NGO – Indian Community Welfare Organization (ICWO) – in association with the Madras School of Social Work (MSSW) , would be flagged off by Social Welfare Minister Geetha Jeevan.
About 50 volunteers would carry various messages on this year’s theme, “Universal Access and Human Rights for people living with HIV/ AIDS”, ICWO director A J Hariharan told Express during a function held ahead of the rally in which many HIV positive people also participated.
Forty-year-old Velayudham, an HIV positive in Chennai, held his shattered childhood and family atmosphere responsible for the loose life he used to lead. He said he used to approach prostitutes when he was young, but later entered into family life, marrying Shanti. But soon he started suffering from common ailments like cold, fever and vomitting, which he ignored first. As it started occuring more frequently, he went and tested for AIDS at the Tambaram Government Hospital and tested HIV positive. Velayudham said he then get his wife tested and she also found to be HIV positive.
When asked whether their family members were aware of their condition, Velayudham said, “My father, brother and sister know it, while on Shanthi’s side, only her parents know it.” The couple said they stay in a rented house in Chrompet. Though Velayudham is a school drop out, he manages to survive by doing odd jobs, as and when health permits, but Shanti is unwemployed. Both of them are undergoing Antiretroviral Therapy (ART).