Meet the team - HIMAKSHI PIPLANI

The eccentric one. A workaholic if you've ever met the worst kind. Superwoman saving the world? Hehe quite true! That's what I wanna do!! Star whiner! The Mastermind behind Take10! One of the 3

Campaign Coordinators! Hehe! Wait, did I just brag ?? Oops!! Well you know who to blame when things get f***ed up...

About me,

I guess I like putting stuff together - ideas! concepts! projects! teams!Compulsive workaholic that I am, you will rarely find me without my darling laptop Chez!

Yes, yes, I am the nerdy thinker - happy in my own mind. Well mostly. For an introvert I can be surprisingly loud and chirpy in company of people I love! Well , what did you expect? The Punjabi in me does surface every now and then ! Like in my love for food - good Panju food!! My indulgence?? Anything sweet baby! Or my OCD of dancing to Dhol no matter where I am!

HIV for me is not out there - but here, now and real. I have seen the faces behind those UNAIDS numbers - 6000 young people infected everyday - faces to those growing numbers. And a life to each face - dreams, quirks, vices, family, jobs, friends - a life as real as yours and mine. Stigma to me is not a concept - but a reality I have seen in the eyes of the HIV positive woman who's family left her alone to suffer. Its a reality I want to change. And that is why the Take10 Campaign! We, the youth of Pune, take responsibility for fighting the HIV in our city. We will break the silence and talk about HIV. We will change the stigma to acceptance - starting with ourselves, our families, our friends, our peers! And we'll do it our way - candid conversations! crazy posters! kick-ass blogs! real-time videos! quirky theater! And much more!!

We are the change we want in the city. Join us! Join the fight! Take10!

I LOVE : The Dhol & Punju Music. Jalebis. A good book. Sunshine. A good conversation. The Terrace. Starry Nights. Quirky Ideas. Stairways. To-do-Lists. Astrology & Occult. Writing. Art of Living.

more...

Wake up Pune launched in November 2006, it is a coalition of NGOs and representatives from civil society working to spread awareness about HIV and AIDS in the city of Pune, India

GYCA is an idea in formation by youth around the world working to curb the spread of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic and improve the conditions of those infected and affected .The coalition was proposed by youth worldwide, including the youth attendees of the XV International AIDS Conference in Bangkok and XIV International AIDS Conference in Barcelona.

Meet the team - SANTOSH SALVE

I am Santaji Dada Salve (bet most of you didn’t know that was my real name, ha! ) better known as Santhosh or the santa man :D . I’m from Shrigonda, Ahmednagar and I’m the project supervisor on the DISHA (Deep griha’s Integrated Service for HIV and AIDS) project at Ramtekdi in Pune and now Campaign coordinator for Take10! as well. Even though I have a commerce background, I always had a keen interest in social work especially in rural areas.

I conduct the Marathi bootcamps and awareness sessions, and am pretty hardworking but my key skills are communication, networking, and acting !! I am an extrovert, who loves to learn while asking a lot of questions, and the lone man backbone of the DISHA women’s club.

I am a HIV positive person, everyone in Pune has to be positive about awareness, education, and support of PLHIV. I come from a village, a very small one and not many people know about HIV there, even I didn’t know till I joined DISHA but since then I’ve learnt a lot.

I LOVE : the skies. monsoons. my wife. learning new things. DGS. paneer. getting to know new people. street plays. DISHA

DISHA started in January 2005 is an HIV prevention, treatment, care and support programme, working not only within our regular target communities but also with the wider public in Pune.

Meet the team - SACHIN PALASPAGAR

Hi, I’m Sachin Palaspagar from Akola and I work on the outreach program run by Saheli – Pune’s sex worker collective, and now, I work as a campaign coordinator on the Take10! Campaign. Though I’m usually a silent spectator, I thrive on enthusiasm and enjoy every moment of my life and work. I love working at Saheli, helping sex workers get empowered. I’m dedicated to the cause of supporting their welfare and being positive so that they can make this organization sustainable in the coming years.

It might be difficult to live with HIV but through good care and getting ART drugs, IT IS POSSIBLE, YOU CAN LIVE WELL. I think one of the biggest issues is stigma and discrimination and we have to join hands to overcome that so Pune and its people can progress.

I LOVE : watching cricket. playing cricket. Anything cricket. the color blue. the rains. home food. My work.

Saheli is a non-profit organization, and is the first sex workers collective in Pune. Run exclusively by and for sex workers, Saheli works for acceptance of sex workers into civil society. sahelisangha@gmail.com http://sahelipune.blogspot.com

Meet the team - MADZ

I am the mad one, goo-goo-ga-joob. :P I'm part of the co-ordinating team of the Take10! campaign and I also run the Art and Creative Project, and help with the photography.Yes. Jill of all trades. Finger in too many pies. Whirlwind. Lazy laid-back beachbum/Hippie. metalhead. That's me :)

I'm the one coming up with the mad, crazy designs and creations you all go boing-boing at :P ,*what the heck is boing-boing anyway!* I also run the online component for now and help our resident SuperWoman Himakshi do this side of her job of saving the world :)

I've been associated with WUP since it began in November 2006. Initially I did unofficial PR and volunteered at events and kiosks and talked about HIV and AIDS, Sex and sexuality to as many people as I could. T'was good work but thinking I could do more, I let Himakshi "galavanize" me into helping the cause while doing the things I really, really, really love doing ( cRe8tivity,muahahahaaha!) along with spreading awareness and understanding!

We have a terrific team this year and with the backing we are getting from the ooo-ahh ooh-ah Staying Alive foundation, YOUth can really make a difference. The future is too important to be lost under the burden of unnecessary ignorance, denial and discrimination that doesn't help the situation at all. We must face this together and be the change we want to see!!

TAkE10! PEOPLE OF PUNE !!! \m/ SPREAD THE WORD. STAND OUT. MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

I LOVE : music. food for the soul. Being gothic-hippie. Telling stories through my photography. Writing crazy poetry. long fast rides. going against norms. Bohemia. Talking. Listening. Live music. Dancing. Eccentricities. The cruise-mode. Beach-bumming. All kinds of love. Creating. Bookshops. Comics. Stardust.

Meet the team - HIMANSHU AGARWAL

Heyyyy!!! I'm errr.... meee!! hahaha... I'm the closet film and cinematography geek and an avid mooter. I head the Film-making team for Take10! and it's my job to document all our experiences and help participants to exhibit their thoughts and feelings and experiences of HIV and relevant issues through film, videos etc.,

I've worked with OpenSpace for quite a while now and I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to be working with Take10! which is providing us such a grand platform to spread awareness through our work. I'm most at home with my handy-cam and can't wait to begin all the workshops! I've been working with Himakshi and WUP for the last 2 yrs now and it has been a great experience.

I believe that some of the things people struggle to talk about such as sex and sexuality, gender issues, HIV and AIDS relevant issues, can all be brought into discussion once we have used visual media whereby they can see whatever they were ignorant or silent about. This will help tremendously in general awareness among the public and I aim to do my very best!!

I LOVE : My handy-cam. too many films. crazy angles. people and their thoughts. mooting. Law. film-making. cinematography. the right frame.

Open Space is the civil society and youth outreach initiative of the Centre for Communication and Development Studies. It's based in Pune but also active in Lucknow, Chennai and Kolkata. Using various forms of communication - literature, cinema, theatre, music, publications, internet - to reach out to citizens, it encourages them to engage in social justice/development issues.

Meet the team - ISHAAN GUPTA

I'm a small-town guy with big dreams, I love my camera and I love my photography, I always try to put in my best shot with that. My creativity and notorious smile define who I am :D

I head the Photography project for Take10! and my job is, with a team to volunteers to capture the dignity of human life that PLHIV are so denied of in the public eye and show the city that they too are just normal people who have albeit been affected by serious health issues.

I believe that the secret of success lies in passion and hardwork and I hope to make it big someday.

I've done so much else, such as starting the Pune Advertising Club but I really wanted to contribute to the society, and what better else cause than the one that stands smack in our faces such as HIV? I'm ready to contribute to any extent of my abilities to my work and they say I'm fun to be with but I am very serious when it comes to life. (hey, i try ) Looking forward to working with all those interested and giving the best we can, TOGETHER!!

I LOVE : camera. photography. my scooter. kurtas. street photography. interesting faces. children. advertising. my life.

Meet the team - SUMEYSH SRIVASTAVA

I am a normal guy who likes to hang out with his friends, listen to my kind of music, watch tv all day, eat food and all such activities which involve minimum physical exercise. My friends think I am fun personified and even though I try to act very cool I'm actually a very sensitive and down to earth kind of guy. I head the Outreach and Kiosk team with Priyanshu, and we put up stalls to create awareness about our cause and all our projects in differenct places. I love this team and the work we've all set out to do. I'm finally doing something good for the society and that too with my own peer group.

There is a difference between showing pity for a cause and actually doing some constructive work for that cause. I believe that our people at Take10! and Wake up Pune are part of this difference and its an awesome experience w orking for this amazing campaign.

I LOVE : Dogs. Football. Batman. KFC. Grunge. Sleeping in.

Meet the team - RACHEL LEPCHA

Ehlo to anyone reading this blog!! Rachel here.(which by the way is pronounced as 'Ray-Chul'. I really don't get why but there are loads of people who just can't seem to pronounce my name!!). Anyhow, it's Annie, if you still can't get that. Just don't mispronounce my name because that really gets to me! Somehow, anyway. Hahaa.I'm originally from Sikkim but studied in Singapore, then in Meghalaya and then I ended up in Pune(which by the way, has awesome weather this time of the year. I'm a libran and true to it, I've two minds about almost everything!!(If you believe the astrology thingy). I'm like 'it could be this way...but then again, it could be the another way too...??Get me?? But one thing I don't have two minds about is joining WUP. which is why I'm writing this blog. Obvious.

WUP- TAKE10! is in one word-CRAZY!!! And that makes me all hyped up when I'm working for it!(We danced on a table during a college fest!!And that's not really me!) I'm more of a 'depends-on-my-mood' kind of a girl (good thing? bad thing? I don't really know!!). I've been known to do really weird things! So I don't really think I should get started on that. Hahaa. Otherwise, I'm pretty sane. The beauty of my depends-on-my-mood thing, its amazingly weird and wonderful.)

If you were to ask my friends about me, they'd say looks are deceptive (;>). True, in a way, I suppose. Anyhow, I could go on and on writing about...just stuff but guess it's best I stop here cuz in the end, I'll just end up writing crap).Hoping to meet everyone who's really up for WUP and Take10! and its one-of-a-kind way of doing things!! Join the fight people!! Let's get moving!

I LOVE : Cool, windy weather. Craziness. Books. Indie music. Post-Hardcore. Food (anykind). Being weird. Being Ray-chul.

Meet the team - MEHREEN MALIK

Hey, people !! It's Mehreen here. My friends call me Mehr because they find my name long and difficult to pronounce. I'm currently studying law at Symbiosis.I play basketball and badminton.You can catch me chillin at NCC,most ot the time sipping tea. Recently I tried river rafting in Pahalgam,Kashmir and it was fun!! My recent past-time has been clicking crazy pictures of my friends while they sleep.Try it.

I joined WUP last year and I think it's the most fulfilling and fun experience I have had after coming to Pune. I'm a Pahari girl from Kashmir. Pune was a totally different culture for me. After seeing all the terrorism back home partly by terrorists and partly by the men in uniform and not being able to do anything, it filled me with a dreadful feeling.and then WUP finally gave me a chance to do something for the people of this country..I'm very grateful for that!

I head the Events team with Rachel and it's my job to make all take10! events as fun as possible!!

I haven't really summed up my stunning personality because we're supposed to be short and precise but you can catch me in action one of these days if you're interested in our cause or visit one of our events. So see ya!!

I LOVE : Rains. NCC Canteen. Chai. Kashmir. Travelling. Silly photos. The wind in my hair. Being me.

Meet the team - PRIYANSHU GAIROLA

Apparently, I'm the trouble-making, excuse factory, satirical commentator on all things insane, all rolled into one..haha!! I head the Outreach and Kiosk team with my friend Sumeysh and its my job to network with other colleges, schools and institutions, so that we can reach out to as many young people as possible with our HIV awareness kiosks and bootcamp signups.

The team thinks I'm a true-blue sports jock. I've done state-level Taekwondo and Badminton and love being a footballer. I guess I've played just about any sport :) along with Lawyering (appearances can be deceptive)

I think stigma and discrimination stops others who want to help because of all the silence, ignorance and taboos surrounding HIV and AIDS and relevant issues and we desperately need to change this situation. Working with WUP and Take10! is awesome because aside college work it is a fulfilling feeling at the end of the day to being doing some good for the world.

I LOVE : Riding/Driving. Football in the rain. Doing nothing. Music. Wishing Megan Fox was my girlfriend (a.k.a I'm single :P) . Not planning anything. Lots of friends. The legendary Barney Stinson. annnnnnnndddddd TAKE10!

Meet the team - SANJANA GOPI

The fun one, yes me!! lol, well my friends think I'm entertaining, caring, impulsive, crazzzyy and a loyal friend. I'm very adventurous and love to try new things all the time. I'm very optimistic and always believe that I CAN !! I love to be around people and have a good time. I also love to think of very innovative ideas and make them work, someway or the other, which is probably why I'm on the media team at Take10! It's my job to talk to all the journalists and media representatives and collaborate with them to support us in our fight against HIV infections, stigma and discrimination.

People who are driven in life and live with a passion inspire me. Whatever I decide to do in the future should make a difference to the world, make it a better place and I will do whatever is possible to get there.

I believe everyone has a right to live wid dignity and that surely includes HIV positive people. They deserve love and respect and should be treated just the same way a person with cancer or diabetes would be treated. Through this campaign I hope to spread awareness among as many people as possible and make them open towards this topic. I know this awareness will help the HIV positive people live a life of dignity and also help prevent infections from spreading further. All of us working together on this campaign will make Pune a more aware, empathetic and open- minded city.

I LOVE : entertaining.change. impulsiveness. new people. talking. enthusiasm. ambition. driving my car. art of living. being full of life. new places. weirdness. a difference. making a difference.

Meet the team - ANUJ KAPOOR

See that grumpy, Devdas look-alike in that corner? Mr. Boredom Personified is not as arrogant as he comes across initially!! Haha!! \

Hi! I'm Anuj, I head the Theatre team with Varuna and yes, I am bit of a quiet, moody, introvert but I'm also the guy who comes up with the crazy scripts and ideas for our theatre team. The big achievements of my life include being an extra on the cricket team in 5th std :D and playing football last year ( 0-6, fantastic match, I tell you!). This other than being an untidy miser, dedicated law student and mooter. My friends say I sing, I'm helpful, nice and good at saving money and frowning :<

I love working with the theatre team and I'm very positive about it being successful, This is a great opportunity and I'm very excited ( quite rare no!) , that aside, working with Take10! has helped me grow as a person and learn a lot other than being just the bored joker.

I LOVE : Good movies. Mooting. Law. Talking. Cricket. Being bored. Theatre.

Meet the team - VARUNA BHANRALE

Halooo..!!! Heyy... Hieeee!!! I'm Varuna!!! *big :D grin* I love being super-duper hyper and I'm the nice, helpful, considerate, the listening kind. Most people think that I'm this big, nerdy snob, which I'm so not!! I'm usually at extremities as in either very,very happy and hyper or very quiet.

I head the Theatre team with Anuj and I'm good at getting everyone to do their part. I've played Basketball for the college team and have good oratory skills (yes, that's where the theatre and the state debate team come into play :D) I also like dancing.

Sometimes. Haha! I hate judging people, hypocrisy and off-color jokes. I never was very ambitious but I've always felt like I wanted to do something worth doing; something that would change the world and that's why I'm part of WUP and Take10! because HIV is not the worst thing, the stigma and discrimination and ignorance surrounding it is!! So that's what I want to fight, and of course, working on this campaign is one of the most fun, fulfilling experiences I've had.

I LOVE : Reading. Solitude. Paulo Coelho. Talking to people. Working under pressure. Observing nature. Writing in my diary. Debating. Theatre.

Meet the team - SHWETAANK NIGAM

H..E..L...L..O...!! I'm the lazy one *yawn* Haha! and I lOVE to eat. A LOT. Constantly referred to as the animated, bottomless pit for food and the grizzly bear and whatever else I don't know of :D I'm quite the careful extrovert who accidentally finds himself called a Casanova just because he's around a lot of girls. [Not!!]

I head the HIV Bootcamp team with Miss.Deepika the Cheerleader and we will be going around conducting the awareness sessions in various institutions. I first got involved with WUP after a session at my college, Symbiosis Law School and well, I got to learn so many things about HIV/AIDS that day and decided to volunteer seeing that there will be a lot more people like me then, who thought they knew everything they needed to know, but don't know enough.

Even though I seem such a vela person, I play on the basketball team, gym everyday [hey I got tired of being the skinny child]. To prove the Casanova nickname wrong, I've been quite the perfect bachelor of 20yrs! Haha! I love chilling and don't drink due to hilarious consequences. I like Karate, boxing and did I mention eating??!!

Well, the problems surrounding HIV have gotten to be taken care of, the right things such as breaking taboos and stigma, support for PLHIV and correct awareness need to emphasized upon. I want to do as much as I can and give my best to the Take10! Campaign!!

I LOVE : Eating. Sleeping. Irritating Rachel. Other people as well. Freaking people out. Eating. Getting stronger physically and mentally. Eating. hip-hop. dance trance. Eating. :P

Meet the team - DEEPIKA SINGH

Woohoo! Yeah !!! I'm pretty much always happy and perky and get called a cheerleader way too much :| I also talk a lot ( yes, yes mea culpa and all that), am a little bit weird, a little bit crazy and quite academically oriented. I head the HIV Bootcamp team with Shwetaank and love to talk about all related issues so I can educate everyone I meet at all the places we get to hold our awareness sessions at.

I've never stayed in a city for more than 3 or 4 yrs, I keep moving. I get obsessed with a lot of fleeting things like the song "wish you were here" and Heath Ledger. Ha ha!! I'm part of the Symbiosis Law School Tatva dance troupe and dancing is like breathing to me. I'm quite family oriented and I dream of writing a Children's book someday.

I'm really excited about the Take10! Campaign, this is a great opportunity to give it back to the city that I've come to love and I'm really passionate about the whole campaign, the cause and educating people about relevant issues. THERE IS JUST SO MUCH TO DO !!!

I LOVE : Pink Floyd. Dancing. Thrillers. Fantasy fiction. Working on my novel (ssshhh!). Adventures. "

Take10!? What it is ?

What is Wake Up Pune?

Official figures report that in Jan-Oct 2007, 18,039 people in the city were tested for HIV at government testing centres. Of these, 12.27% tested positive. These figures exclude the thousands of people already living with HIV in Pune, along with those who are as yet unaware of their HIV+ status.

Launched in November 2006, Wake Up Pune is a coalition of NGOs corporate companies, local businesses and interested individuals. We also have a number of local supporters including Extentia, Cerillion , INOX, E-Square etc. The coalition works towards spreading awareness about HIV and AIDS in the city of Pune, India.

Why young people?

Traditionally HIV AIDS awareness has been centred on ‘high risk groups’ amongst the lower socio-economic groups e.g. truck drivers, commercial sex workers and the uneducated.

However, with over 33% of all new HIV infections occurring in the age-group 15-29, Wake Up Pune understands and acknowledges the need for youth-centred HIV awareness to address vulnerability among young people arising from lack of accurate information and low risk perception.

We have in the past conducted awareness workshops at several educational institutes such as St. Vincent’s School, BMCC college, ILS, Wadia’s. We also successfully ran HIV & AIDS Awareness events at several inter-college fests last year including one at Pune University MBA department and at Bhartiyam 2009 at Bhartiya Vidya Peeth, Katraj.

So what is The Take10! Campaign ??

The Take10! Campaign is a new youth initiative launched by Wake Up Pune Coalition this July with support from Staying Alive Foundation, MTV Global Networks. It is a completely youth-led campaign that gives young people 10 simple ways to join the fight against HIV in Pune city. The campaign provides a space to learn about HIV in Pune and other related issues particularly of the stigma and discrimination faced by people living with HIV in the city. But the campaign doesn't stop there. It furthers the awareness and learning by turning it into opportunity for action through small projects on awareness through creative media such as Film, Theater, Creative Writing, Cricket, Photography etc.

So come and join the fight with Take10!