Misunderstood and Mistreated
HIV/AIDS is not a very well understood disease in certain parts of the world, and especially so in India. It is thought of as a disease of people who live ‘sinful’ or ‘perverted’ lifestyles. Infected people are grouped into the Dalit societal caste, the lowest of all the castes, along with people who do work that is considered ritually impure, and are shunned by the rest of society. They are not allowed to enter schools or temples, and they receive little to no medical care. They are literally trapped in their affliction, and this makes it very easy for the disease to be propagated through generations.
Care and Compassion
Many different organizations have initiatives in India and elsewhere to educate the general public about what HIV/AIDS actually is, how it’s contracted and spread, why it’s important to keep it from spreading any further and how people can actively prevent themselves from contracting or spreading it. Come Alive World has gone one step further to seek out affected people and to provide them with the care they would otherwise not get. We are especially focused on children who got the disease from their mothers through birth or breastfeeding, and children who have been orphaned because of the disease. We have built an orphanage in one of the most at-risk communities in India, where both kids and adults get the basic necessities and healthcare they need. We’re equipping them to have a full life, despite the challenges they face being shunned from the wider society.