Dear Reader,
It was Sunday afternoon on Feb 21st, I was thinking about visiting an orphanage for quite some time. I was anxious about how I will interact with children and what I can tell them. Almost year ago, I got call from a NGO called Desire Society dedicated for providing care for AIDS effected children. I got inspired by this and made some financial contribution to them. I wanted to see the facility and meet with children and really know more about them. I had my view that AIDS effected children will be unwell and they cannot lead a normal life. This visit completely altered this.
I called the care taker of this orphanage and started from my home. I lost on the way since direction was not clear. Finally after number of calls I reached the place. First of all I was welcomed by children warm greetings. I had half hour discussion with the care taker about the the purpose this organization and some facts about the AIDS effected children. Following are some interesting facts I got from this interaction.
- DESIRE Society is a non-profit voluntary organization established in the year of 2004 in Hyderabad. Now the Organization is functioning in India covering with Four states, i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Maharastra with several activities in the field of HIV/AIDS, keeping an objective of health development and well-being of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). Check http://www.desiresociety.org/projects.html
- Bangalore facility is located on Bannerghatta Road, 1.5 kms from Meenakshi Temple. Here there are around 21 children in the orphanage, out of which 7 are AIDS infected thru their parents and remaining 14 children are normal and their parents are deceased by AIDS.
- There 4 stages in AIDS infection. During 1st and 2nd, they can lead normal life. They need proper nutrition and normal medication when they are attacked by any illness. Beyond 3rd stage is considered as advanced and requires compulsory medication to keep them fit. (The cost of medication is around Rs.1500 to Rs.2000 per month at this stage). With the medication they can lead normal life and life can be extended upto 5-7 years. There is no cure for AIDS. but medical treatments can slow down the rate at which HIV weakens the immune system. As with other diseases, early detection offers more options for treatment and preventing complications.
After a while, children were eager to have some fun and entertainement. I was really inspired by the energy and enthusiasm displayed by the children. They performed for almost an hour, this included singing, dancing, narrating stories, playing drama etc. I was really facinated by their spontaneous response and deep involvement. I was really moved when they sang twinkle twinkle little star. They were really enjoying every moment and having great time. I could not see any child who is worried or feeling sick at any time. I do not see that kind of joy and fun in our normal life where we have all the comforts. It was extra ordinary experience for me to be with this children. My worries disappeared when I saw the smiles in their faces. I felt they are perfect and I have no right to think they are deprived of something. Initially I had feeling that I went there with empty hand, I did not take gifts to give them. At the end when I ready to leave, they thanked me profoundly and that made my day. I got that they do not need any gifts, all they need was to be with them. Give them love, care and compassion. I had made some constribution before living. i was served with tea which tasted so well. I observed that the place was maintained very well. I also took some pictures during this visit. This is one memorable moment for me with children and I will surely remember this for long time.
It was Sunday afternoon on Feb 21st, I was thinking about visiting an orphanage for quite some time. I was anxious about how I will interact with children and what I can tell them. Almost year ago, I got call from a NGO called Desire Society dedicated for providing care for AIDS effected children. I got inspired by this and made some financial contribution to them. I wanted to see the facility and meet with children and really know more about them. I had my view that AIDS effected children will be unwell and they cannot lead a normal life. This visit completely altered this.
I called the care taker of this orphanage and started from my home. I lost on the way since direction was not clear. Finally after number of calls I reached the place. First of all I was welcomed by children warm greetings. I had half hour discussion with the care taker about the the purpose this organization and some facts about the AIDS effected children. Following are some interesting facts I got from this interaction.
- DESIRE Society is a non-profit voluntary organization established in the year of 2004 in Hyderabad. Now the Organization is functioning in India covering with Four states, i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Maharastra with several activities in the field of HIV/AIDS, keeping an objective of health development and well-being of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). Check http://www.desiresociety.org/projects.html
- Bangalore facility is located on Bannerghatta Road, 1.5 kms from Meenakshi Temple. Here there are around 21 children in the orphanage, out of which 7 are AIDS infected thru their parents and remaining 14 children are normal and their parents are deceased by AIDS.
- There 4 stages in AIDS infection. During 1st and 2nd, they can lead normal life. They need proper nutrition and normal medication when they are attacked by any illness. Beyond 3rd stage is considered as advanced and requires compulsory medication to keep them fit. (The cost of medication is around Rs.1500 to Rs.2000 per month at this stage). With the medication they can lead normal life and life can be extended upto 5-7 years. There is no cure for AIDS. but medical treatments can slow down the rate at which HIV weakens the immune system. As with other diseases, early detection offers more options for treatment and preventing complications.
After a while, children were eager to have some fun and entertainement. I was really inspired by the energy and enthusiasm displayed by the children. They performed for almost an hour, this included singing, dancing, narrating stories, playing drama etc. I was really facinated by their spontaneous response and deep involvement. I was really moved when they sang twinkle twinkle little star. They were really enjoying every moment and having great time. I could not see any child who is worried or feeling sick at any time. I do not see that kind of joy and fun in our normal life where we have all the comforts. It was extra ordinary experience for me to be with this children. My worries disappeared when I saw the smiles in their faces. I felt they are perfect and I have no right to think they are deprived of something. Initially I had feeling that I went there with empty hand, I did not take gifts to give them. At the end when I ready to leave, they thanked me profoundly and that made my day. I got that they do not need any gifts, all they need was to be with them. Give them love, care and compassion. I had made some constribution before living. i was served with tea which tasted so well. I observed that the place was maintained very well. I also took some pictures during this visit. This is one memorable moment for me with children and I will surely remember this for long time.
See you again next time.
Till then,
Sridhar Pai
I appreciate the fact that you spent time with the children. I think this itself needs a lot of courage.
ReplyDeleteI wish you well,
Nice post,
Dew
Thanks Deepa for your appreciation. Actually the uncomfortable feeling is stopping us sometimes to connect with people and be with them. I realized that we only created that kind of prejudice or fear in our mind with people and in reality it does not exist. But it is worth visiting such places.
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