ASOP Partner-The Naz Foundation

The Naz Foundation (India) Trust (NI) is a New Delhi based NGO working on HIV/AIDS and Sexual Health since 1994. Through the years, Naz India has evolved and implemented a holistic approach to combat HIV, focusing on prevention as well as treatment. Our focus is on reaching out to marginalized populations infected and affected by HIV. We also aim to sensitize the community to the prevalence of HIV, as well as highlight issues related to Sexuality and Sexual Health.

• We believe in providing quality care and support to people living with HIV
• We believe in providing unbiased factual information on sexual health and HIV to the public
• We believe in a rights-based approach

Naz Foundation runs 7 programs ranging from transgender issues, peer education,home care ,advocacy and others. As ASOP Partner , Naz has collaboparted with the Award with its sports program GOAL. GOAL uses netball and life skills education to transform the lives of young underprivileged girls in India, on and off the court.

Since 2006 Naz India is implementing the Goal Programme, a collaborative, multi-stakeholder initiative that links the private and NGO sectors and uses sports—in this case netball—as a vehicle for social inclusion. GOAL is a community programme with transformational impact; it builds self-confidence and gives adolescent girls a better chance at life. The programme funded by Standard Chartered Bank is a Standard Chartered Community Investment initiative, run in partnership with local and international NGOs.

Women’s empowerment is central to the values of Standard Chartered Bank and critical to economic development. Women represent a large customer and talent segment for the business. The Bank understands that women will drive economic growth in their communities in the future.

GOAL is offered twice a week; each session includes a mix of netball and education modules. The programme participants are between the ages of 14 and 19 and come from families that earn less than $2 a day. GOAL’s education is focused on four key life skills: promotion of self-confidence, communication skills, health and hygiene, and financial literacy. Once girls complete GOAL, those interested are invited to become GOAL Champions. The GOAL Champions are trained to deliver the programme themselves, allowing us to quickly scale and replicate the model.

The programme was expanded to Mumbai in 2008, reaching 360 girls in two cities and now has a planned expansion to Chennai in 2009.

GOAL’s impact is personal and transformational. “[Before GOAL, my family] said clean, cook, and that's your life. And there was this line that was drawn that we could never cross. But now the line is going backwards. And we are just, you know, coming out, we have crossed it. And now we have realised that our life is not just limited to washing clothes, washing utensils, or cooking.”

HIV/AIDS are complex issues that affect all our lives whatever the gender, class, caste, religion, sexuality and sexual orientation. Naz India is committed to raising awareness to prevent the spread of HIV and providing support to those living with the virus and those affected by it, with sensitivity and utmost confidentiality.