39 year old Lekhnath Adhikary of Kaski is a successful example of how a little bit of assistance can transform the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS helping them face life with renewed confidence and hope. PLHAs like Adhikari not only have to deal with the physical challenge that the disease imposes but also suffer mentally due to the social stigma, discrimination and guilt that pushes them further into depression. Adhikary got the virus while laboring in India and unknowingly transmitted the virus to his wife who gave birth to an infected child. After spending everything they had to cure the disease failed, Adhikary became completely bed ridden and hopeless.

To enable PLHAs to live a normal life is one of the main goals of UNHIV/AIDS Livelihood Programme. Working together with Micro Enterprise Development Programme (MEDEP), the National Entrepreneurs Development Centre (NEDC) and the local Community Support Group (CSG) of Kaski district, UNHIV/AIDS initiated an entrepreneurship and skills development training program that attempted to build the confidence of PLHAs by teaching them how to start and improve a business. Two trainings, each nine days long, were conducted in September 2008 in Kaski with a total of 32 participants who were all PLHAs. After the training was over small loans from the Dhaulagiri Savings and Credit Cooperative were arranged for needy participants to enable them to start their business.

Although seriously weakened by the disease Lekhnath managed to attend the training with the help of his wife and mother. Upon completion of the training, a loan of Rs 7000 was arranged for the family to start a fruits and vegetable selling business. Lekhnath, his wife and mother, started selling fruits and vegetables at different locations in the city earning Rs 300-500 a day and saved Rs 20-50 each day managing to pay off the loan within a month. Till date they have already earned more than Rs 60,000 and saved more than Rs 15000. "Before we were simply waiting for death but now we know that we are not going to die immediately and have a lot more confidence" said the survivor in an interview given to Kantipur National Daily and thanked UNHIV/AIDS, MEDEP, NEDC and CSG for giving him and his family a chance at life again.

Most of the participants who participated in the training are now conducting their own small businesses like mobile repair and stationary shops. Others like Ram Bahadur Nepali who got the virus in Malaysia are making a living rowing their own boats in the lakes of Pokhara. The training has transformed the lives of PLHA's by building their confidence and motivating them to face the long journey with new hope and enthusiasm.