Our Doctor, project co-ordinator and a social worker go to a village and contact the local officials, like the village headman, the village midwife, and teachers asking them if anyone has died recently, or is sick. They hold a 'health-camp' to which anyone with medical problems can come. In this way he is able to identify suspect HIV/AIDS cases, arrange for them to be tested at a government centre, and tell them that they can get free advice about living with HIV/AIDS, and free general medicines at our Brighter Future Community Centre every month. We have found 470 new cases since 2008. In the year 2013-4 we found 45 new cases. All these cases were within 25km of the main town of the district, where the government testing and treatment centre is to be found.
These patients suffer from extreme poverty as they have no income to pay for food, or medicines for themselves and their children. They are often too sick to work as daily labourers or cannot find work because they are known to have HIV.They have to rely on their relations and begging, for food. Some are badly treated by their in-laws, others are ostracised by neighbours, all are in danger of dying of starvation as well as of AIDS.
Brighter Future gives food and medicine parcels of 5kg rice, 1/2 kg each of wheat, soya, lentils and oil to those who can come to our centre. We give them 10 or 20 rupees towards their bus fares.More than 7000 food parcels have been given since 2008. The are not enough to live on but intended as a supplement to prevent starvation, however, some mothers have to live entirely on them.
Very sick children and mothers can be admitted to the new Hospice at Shanti Nivas, and children who have no one able to care for them are taken into our residential homes.
Some of our children seem well but die suddenly - this has happened to five of our long time resident children, Lavanya, KK, Bharath,Vijaya and Ramadevi, Appalnaidu and most recently Pavan and Janaki. The anti-retroviral
Many of the children succumb to TB which is very prevalent in India.It is curable if the tablets are taken regularly for 6 months to a year.The children do not get lung TB but glanduj lar TB at any of the lymph nodes in the body. If treatment stops and starts the TB becomes resistant to the drugs. This is what happened to Sanyassi.
Brighter Future gives food and medicine parcels of 5kg rice, 1/2 kg each of wheat, soya, lentils and oil to those who can come to our centre. We give them 10 or 20 rupees towards their bus fares.More than 7000 food parcels have been given since 2008. The are not enough to live on but intended as a supplement to prevent starvation, however, some mothers have to live entirely on them.
Very sick children and mothers can be admitted to the new Hospice at Shanti Nivas, and children who have no one able to care for them are taken into our residential homes.
We urgently need sponsors or trusts to enable us to help these mainly widows and children.
Some of the HIV+ children found by Brighter Future's Finding and Feeding Project .
Nine of these children have died because they were so malnourished and starving
that their HIV treatment could not work. one is happily still living in our homes for infected children.
Some of our children seem well but die suddenly - this has happened to five of our long time resident children, Lavanya, KK, Bharath,Vijaya and Ramadevi, Appalnaidu and most recently Pavan and Janaki. The anti-retroviral
drugs are very toxic and eventually cause liver and kidney failure. HIV attacks many of the body's organs, including the brain.
