HIV-Positive Orphan Children Refused Shelter in Jaipur

Unfortunate orphan children suffering from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Jaipur are forced to endure another trauma as locals are not keen to rent out their houses to the voluntary fora and other NGOs to run care homes for such children. Urging the government to add provisions of HIV-affected children in the Integrated Child Protection System (ICPS) for proper care by building care homes for them, Sushila, a volunteer said: "We are running a care home for these children in a rented house from last six years and nobody is ready to rent their home as they think that they may also face similar problems due to HIV. So, they are not ready to rent their houses for HIV infected children."

"They ask for high rent, which we are unable to afford. We want that under the ICPS scheme of the government that enables voluntary fora to run care homes for poor children, they should also take care of the HIV infected and AIDS affected children, so that they are able to live with confidence and self esteem and not ridiculed by the society," she added.

Kishan Singh, another volunteer said they are facing problems in taking proper care of these children due to the apathetic attitude of the society.

"We are facing lot of problems. We have been running this care home for the past six years and wherever we stay, we cannot talk to the landlords directly as to the reason for which the house is required; otherwise they would not rent us the premises. We have vacated 15 to 20 houses till now," he added.

Source-ANI