Home Based Care for HIV/AIDS +ve Orphan Children

Marathwada Gramin Vikas Sanstha {MGVS) is working in health, community health, water, and sanitation project, etc. for the last 20 years, during the implementation of their reproductive & child health, HIV /AIDS targeted intervention, and Pediatrics AIDS initiative we have identified and worked with 650 HIV positive children from 100 villages of Aurangabad districts. These children are registered and receiving Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART). 45 to 50 % of these children are orphans while others are single or foster parented. The condition of these children is exceedingly pathetic. They are without care and support. Relatives are not ready to keep these children in their homes. Grandparents who are alive are usually extremely poor and unable to take the necessary special care of the children. The children feel insecure and neglected and fall prey to infection and weakness, which ultimately leads to premature mortality. To help stem this problem MGVS decided to provide permanent residential care and support to these HIV-positive and vulnerable orphaned children.

We don’t have any financial support for daily activities, food, and education for children, so we are raising funds through various ways for the above mission.

MGVS provides home-based care and support to 475 children. They are partial nutrition, in which we provide them with groundnut, Gud, Sprouts (protein), Rice Jaggery, etc. ORW makes monthly visits to the children and their guardians for counseling.

Their immediate needs for food, shelter, or medical care are met at guardian homes therefore it gives them the very basic support for living life positively. The project eliminates the insecurity of food in the life of the child. Good hygienic food makes the immune system stronger. The child is active in his day-to-day work activities. He/she is more positive towards his future and more concentrative towards her studies. The child is safe and protected at the guardian's home. The orphan child is enrolled in school because of which he/she can be self-sustainable and more confident when he is mature.