Welcome TO Muktaa Charitable Foundation

Muktaa Charitable Foundation (MCF) is a not-for-profit, registered public trust founded by socially conscious citizens. (Registration Number: Maha/1215/2010/Pune) Founders of the Trust are volunteers who have come together to help manage the trust and its projects. Muktaa Helpline now known as Samvad Helpline started its journey on 5th October 2005 with 1 counsellor and 1 phone line. Saved HIV Helpline -a free, anonymous, one-to-one telephonic counselling, information and referral centre is an initiative of MCF.Today we have 12 counsellors on 10 lines; taking more than 100 calls a day! We have call centre in Pune, Maharashtra  and Patna, Bihar. Till date Savedhashelped to bring about change in the lives of over 1 lakh 50 thousand people with phone calls from all over India. We have also partnered with MSACS (Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society) and have been steadily gaining ground in our fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Today, Samvad Helpline has established itself as the largest and most reputed helpline for HIV in India.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step (a Chinese proverb). That single step was a great step that we took in 2005 by starting the ‘Samvad HIV helpline’’, which we never imagined, would one day became the biggest helpline in India! It happened something like this….. When the HIV epidemic hit the shores of India in 1986, there was death all around, associated with a lot of stigma, fear, discrimination against the infected person and his family. This lead to mushrooming of many unethical practises and rehab centres on the outskirts of Pune, Maharashtra opened for the sole reason of making a fast buck. Two decades went by, with the same scenario prevailing. There was hardly any effective treatment available. And there was a lot of misinformation about this deadly disease. That is when a group of social conscious, likely minded people from different strata of society (doctors, soft ware engineers, housewives etc) from Pune came together and decided to start a free telephonic HIV helpline. We appropriately named it ‘Samvad’ which in English means “dialogue”. Easier said than done! It was a formidable task than we had contemplated. But we followed Abraham Lincoln’s advice: Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four hours sharpening the axe. We gave ourselves 6 months and spent the first 4 months in planning , getting trained in telephonic counselling, recruiting volunteers, recruiting and training telephonic counselors, renting a place etc. In the next couple of weeks, we realized that we had a super-talented team with inspiring and enthusiastic leaders who were always committed to excellence.

Our intentions were clear and pious. Hence, help in the form of monitory donations, movable assets like computers, software, furniture, air conditioners were easily obtained than we had thought possible.Then finally, in the fitness of things, on Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti i.e. on 2nd of October 2005, we launched our ambitious project Samvad HIV helpline which we never imagined, would one day became the biggest helpline in India! Shortly, MUKTAA CHARITABLE FOUNDATION came into existence.

Days, weeks, years went by. We progressed from one counselor to 8 counselors, from hardly any call in a day to almost 140 calls per day, polishing our services in the process. Looking at our dedication, experience and quality, we were requested to start a similar helpline in Patna, all finances taken care off. A big opportunity to serve mankind in a different state in India. We grabbed this opportunity and our branch in Bihar. A replica of our Maharashtra helpline, it attained success in very short time. Reasons for this success? Our counselors are trained to the last word in giving accurate scientific information on HIV coupled with a friendly, empathetic attitude. Years went by. HIV epidemic reached its peak (calls were beyond our capacity to handle), slowed down (calls were manageable) and reached its nadir (calls rates dropped). We at MCF were jubilant! We were waiting for the day when a helpline in HIV was not needed, meaning that there were hardly any new HIV infections!! Great! Our job was done!

In all probability, MCF had made a decent role in control of this HIV epidemic. Till 2020, we have catered to more than 3 lack life changing calls. Running a helpline without any government funding was truly an immense task. But we had in place a very efficient, experienced help line. So we moved in different directions and added TB. STD, Hepatitis to our helpline. We also expanded our work in the community in areas our services were needed most. We needed to take one step at a time, but kept on stepping!

Drug addictions: We realized that we in India were facing a silent, life threatening addiction to mind changing drugs like tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and even narcotics which was causing disastrous in families and society. In 2015 we started conducting awareness programmes in schools (addiction is a symptom of not growing up!), colleges (please learn to say NO to drugs), amongst doctors, councillors and psychologists (who would be our messengers in the society) with the sole aim in controlling this epidemic. We started treating the addicted directly when we realized that the mentality and behaviour of drug addicts and alcoholics is wholly irrational until you understand that they are completely powerless over their addiction and unless they have structured help, they have no hope.

• We started Life skills training in school children the project called ‘Shaala Beyond Books’. New India doesn’t need children to think smaller, India needs them to think bigger, be bolder and to manage their life efficiently. That is what we teach in Life Skills!

• We conducted ‘Anaemia detection and treatment camps’’ in Pune and in remote rural areas where we found anaemia very common on account of poverty and bad nutrition. The beginning of this current year (2020) witnessed a pandemic of magnanimous proportions never witnessed by anyone alive…rapidly spreading infections, deaths, curfew, lockdown….. Our helpline closed, all our projects went on hold and we were forced indoors (work from home was the new mantra!). We started what was critically needed under the situation: Samvad Corona Helpline. Eight doctors came together, got updated in Covid pandemic and started answering calls from the lay public.

Our other new initiatives include:

• Ankur (systematic disclosure of their HIV status to children living with HIV)
• AASHA (initiative to enhance adherence to ART)
• Sampark (Free mobile service to helpline for rural and illiterate people)
• Call back service for desperate callers
• SMS reminder service for ART refill.
• Sakav for life skill education in schools and colleges .

• Samvad TB helpline .

• WE CAN project for cancer awareness and tobacco de-addiction.
• No-addict: A initiative to prevent and treat addiction by way of education and counselling.