HAPPY HOME

Orphaned and abandoned children find dignity in a home that also makes sure they go to school

They are a group of orphaned and abandoned children with two things in common : they are infected with the dreaded HIV virus, and they have a full, normal life. Between two-and-a-half and 13 years of age. This group of 39 children is living at Anandaghar, a home created by social worker Kallol Ghosh. It is more than just a place of refuge : Anandghar is a place these child can call their own and a stall that is their only family. “As per UNICEF statistics, among the estimated 5.7 million people living in India with the virus, nearly 15 % are children under 15. This is alarming and very little is being done to give these children a humane life” says Ghosh.


Ostracised by society, the children realise that this is the only place where people are not scared to give them a hug or a handshake, and that makes them break into smiles, the only thing infectious about them. Anandaghar is bang in the middle of a densely- populated are near Kolkata where, surprisingly, the neighbours never raised objections to its presence. “When I started the home here, local people supported us ad that has gone a long way in making this HIV center a reality” says Ghosh. Anandghar is almost completely run on private donations and all the children have found sponsorship. Ghosh recalls that it is difficult to get treatment for the HIV –affected. “Even in Kolkata hospitals with designated HIV departments, surgeons are diffident about operating upon an HIV-affected child. We had a trying time to even find a doctor who would stitch up a bleeding would”, he says.


The children go to local schools were Ghosh has sensitised teachers and distributed PEP kits (for use in the event of suspected exposure to HIV) so that others are not at a risk. “I know many children won’t live long enough to become graduates or have a career. But I want them to have as normal a childhood as possible. After all, they are like other children, with the same needs and desires,” says Ghosh. If love is all they need, then Anandaghar is just the place – a home with lots of happiness and a heart in the right place.