Project 'CHILD' at J.J. Hospital, Byculla
Project CHILD (Child Health Initiative Leading to Development) is especially for those children who are infected and suffering from HIV / AIDS. CSA makes efforts to reach out to more and more children by organizing visits toward number 40 at the J.J. Hospital, and as a result 130 children are presently registered under this programme and the number is ever increasing. It is heartening to note that one fourth of the children have been enrolle
d in the nursery and balwadi. A majority of the children are studying in the 1st – 4th std and are little children, vulnerable, and in need of constant care and support. A little more than one fourth of the children are studying in the 5th – 9th std. Eleven percent of the children do not go to school; they are the ones who have never been enrolled in school due to their illness.
d in the nursery and balwadi. A majority of the children are studying in the 1st – 4th std and are little children, vulnerable, and in need of constant care and support. A little more than one fourth of the children are studying in the 5th – 9th std. Eleven percent of the children do not go to school; they are the ones who have never been enrolled in school due to their illness. On
the whole, the children who go to school are very good in their studies as is reflected intheir school progress reports. They are all happy to go to school. The children are mainly enrolled in government schools like municipal schools, Vidya Mandir, and the schools run by private NGOs. They are well accepted in the schools since their illness is not made known to the other children and to the school staff. 85 % percent of these children are undergoing ART treatment. The conditions in which these children live are not very conducive for their health. The nutrition powder provided to them helps them increase their immunity to a certain extent, and most of the children have also gained weight.
