Hospital brings Puja cheer for 100 HIV kids

KOLKATA: The staff and students of the Government College of Nursing at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital brought smiles to 100 HIV positive children by gifting them new clothes and study materials in the run-up to the Pujas.
Habra’s Leena Das (name changed) said, “My husband died in January this year nine months after he was detected with full blow AIDS.My two sons and I are also HIV positive. My children are too young to understand the implications of the virus. Like other kids they were looking forward for new clothes, which I was unable to afford. I am so touched by the gesture of these sisters.” Leena works as a tailor and her income is inadequate to take care of her family.
These HIV positive children are under the North 24-Parganas Network for People living with HIV/AIDS, Barasat (NNP+), who facilitates their health check-ups, treatment and other support. Majority of these children got infected from their parents while few are thalassemic and got the virus during blood transfusions. Most are orphans as their parents have succumbed to AIDS.
“There are about 400 children under NNP+, many of whom have lost their parents to AIDS. Their families do not want to keep them due to the stigma. And so far there is no shelter home for these children from the government. But this effort by the staff and students of the nursing college is a reason to cheer for these children,” said Samir Biswas of NNP + Barasat.
The ‘joy of giving’ campaign also provided the nursing students with an opportunity to interact with HIV positive individuals. Principal Dr Subrata Sarkar hugged the children, shook hands and mixed with them, sending a message to students that HIV positive individuals are not to be shunned.
“There is still so much of stigma attached with HIV positives. Such interaction, apart from giving the HIV positive kids a little bit of joy during the festival, is also a platform where we make an effort to change the attitude of the future nurses about these patients,” said Sarkar.
This is the third year the college has organized the ‘joy of giving’. The staff and students pooled in for the project. The students also put up a show for the children.