Lok Samiti organized a group wedding for 30 couples in Mehdiganj, expecting over ten thousand attendees. I saw this as a great opportunity to kick off Sanjeevni Booti’s work. I discussed the plan with Lane, and we decided to conduct a survey on HIV awareness and distribute pamphlets about basic knowledge of AIDS. Lane prepared the content for the pamphlets and created questions for the survey. I had 2,000 pamphlets and 200 survey sheets printed.  I needed additional help with the survey, so I asked my friends Raju, Sonu, and Bablu—who are also members of Sanjeevni Booti. Sonu agreed immediately, but Raju and Bablu were initially busy with other work.

To encourage them to help, I offered them a day’s salary. Raju agreed to this offer, but Bablu did not. Lane covered all expenses, including the pamphlets, survey sheets, and travel costs. I also needed some female volunteers to survey other women, but I couldn’t find any.  I asked Nandlal if any of Lok Samiti’s female members could assist with surveying women for Sanjeevni Booti. Nandlal agreed to send two females, but unfortunately, they were occupied with wedding preparations when we arrived. As a result, we could not conduct surveys with any women.

We ended up surveying over 80 people and distributed 1,000 pamphlets. I was shocked by the villagers’ responses about AIDS. It seemed they had little understanding of the disease. Some believed AIDS could spread through the air, others thought it could result from having more than five sexual partners a day, and some thought it could be easily treated with medication. None of them were aware that AIDS could spread through shared razors or needles. When asked if any other NGOs had educated them about AIDS, none said yes, indicating they had not been informed by anyone with accurate knowledge. India has a high number of AIDS cases, and the rate is increasing rapidly due to changing sexual practices as the economy grows.

The rise in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is likely to continue. The government needs to take action to prevent this issue from escalating further. Given that Indians are generally open to new ideas and the use of condoms has not been a major issue, we can control the spread of this disease with proper education. Lane compiled the survey results into a report, which was published on Sanjeevni Booti’s website.