“SANGRAM is like maher (mother’s house).” HIV-positive orphan

Children are among the biggest victims of HIV, which takes its toll not only directly on their health, but also on their education. In fact, the unexpected role reversal it creates is dramatically altering family dynamics. Children whose parents have died of AIDS are forced to live with their grandparents and at a tender age become caretakers for the aged.

One such orphan was forced to drop out of school after she started living with her grandmother. She was dismissed from the school for missing too many days, as she was forced to be her grandmother’s caretaker, cooking and cleaning for her. “When we saw her school uniform all wrapped up and kept in the loft, it had such a finality about it, it simply broke my heart,” says Rajlaxmi Patil from Miraj.

The district campaign started intervening in such situations from 2000. The campaign insisted that two youngsters with tuberculosis be allowed to continue their school education. SANGRAM took responsibility for supervising treatment - and the children resumed their studies. The district campaign often holds village panchayat discussions to reconsider situations where HIV-positive students, specially girls, have been expelled from school, and has successfully campaigned for their readmission.

In some instances, the campaign has managed more. In one case, SANGRAM negotiated with the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation to ensure that an HIV-positive driver’s dues reached his orphaned children. It also secured a commitment that the organization would give the driver’s son a job when he turns 21.

To tackle such cases on a systematic basis, SANGRAM recently got over 500 panchayats to pass a resolution to take responsibility for HIV orphans’ food, education and basic necessities by making allocations from their reserve fund. Since 2000, SANGRAM has also declared December 1 - World Aids Day - as Kala Din (Black Day), on which to rally against discrimination towards AIDS patients, including orphans. “On this day, we acknowledge and honour orphans of HIV/AIDS, their efforts and courage, and their fight for survival.”

By 2006, the rally had honoured 791 orphans of AIDS. At the rally, orphans are made to feel welcome, offered a free meal, free health check-up, told about their right to free AIDS medicines, given free gifts—a sweater, school bag, school uniform, water bottle, chappals, notebooks, lunchbox or toys. All their efforts were made worthwhile, confides Prashant Bhosale, when, at one such rally, an AIDS orphan told a SANGRAM staffer, “SANGRAM does more for me than my own family. When I come to SANGRAM, it is like coming to my maher (mother’s home).”