Help a HIV child with monthly groceries

Impact

Mhalappa is a 7-year-old boy from a poor family in Ram Nagar, Pune. His parents died of AIDS and he and his sister were sent to live with their aunt and uncle. **Both the children were HIV+ as well. Mhalappa fell ill often**. He had Tuberculosis and could not attend school regularly. Over time, he had to **leave school because of his absenteeism. **The family did not have the money to get him the right nutrition and treatment. His aunt and uncle were distraught and did not know what they could do to improve his health and keep him going. He was discovered by **Swadhar and added to their project, Rays of Hope. They put him on a protein rich diet** of peanuts, jaggery, dates, eggs, and milk powder. This began to increase his strength and immunity. They also provided him antiretroviral treatment recommended by his doctor. Mhalappa’s strength has improved a great deal because of Swadhar’s help. He goes to the centre every month with his aunt to collect his nutritional supplements. He has also started going to school regularly.**Mhalappa is now a much more active and happy child. Although he is still susceptible to infections, his aunt and uncle are confident about his growth. The love and security they provide keeps him going. **Children like Mhalappa need all the strength they can get. Your donation will give the food and nutrition that their poor families cannot afford. You can give with confidence because every program on our platform is [GIVEASSURED](https://www.giveindia.org/giveassured).**

About The Program

Swadhar's project 'Rays of Hope' was started in 2005 for the rehabilitation of HIV+ve children and children with HIV+ve parents.The aim of this project is to rehabilitate these children by giving them support in the form of grocery, medicines, education, emotional support and helping them to live a dignified life. The children are referred and validated through home visits. The beneficiaries are provided with groceries and other nutritional supplements like eggs, milk powder, dates etc monthly. All the children visit the center with their care-takers where they get nutritional supplements. The HIV+ children also receive medical support and all of them receive educational support. Close to 150 children are under the foster care scheme. There are many children on the waiting list for the want of financial assistance.Donate to this program so that the children can get access to proper food to help them grow into healthy adults.

About The NGO

Swadhar's Founder Meenakshi Apte was a professor and HOD of Family & Child Welfare in TISS. She witnessed many cases of domestic violence against women. She feels that ignorance amongst women is the main cause of their suffering so in order to have someplace where they can be guided, counseled and made aware of their rights, she and other like-minded women came together and Swadhar was started. Swadhar's mission is to provide services like education, training, guidance, and counseling to underprivileged women and children in order to ensure the protection of their rights, self-reliance, and empowerment.They work towards empowering women and girls through counseling, awareness & education. The organization also conducts reading and overall development classes for children from underprivileged families. Their ray of hope programs works with children who are HIV infected or children whose parents are infected. Groceries, medicines, and nutrition are provided to them. In 2015, Sanjivani Hingne was awarded the VatsalyaPuraskar by the Akhil Brahmin MadhyavartiSanstha Rehabilitation of children of sex workers. In 2016, Nayana Deshmukh was awarded the Excellence in work by the Lokmanyanagar senior citizens club and the Teachers day award by the Lions Club Care & protection of Children.