Hyderabad: After CNN-IBN reported on the plight of a school kid being turned away from government pre-school because he was an HIV-positive, the Andhra government swung into action and has ordered an inquiry into the matter.
While on the one hand the story of one-and-a-half-year-old Vamsikrishna has invited generous help from various NGOs, on the other, it has also sent the school and the anganwadi authorities running for cover.
"We will have an investigation and take remedial measures. The child cannot be put away like this,” says Secretary in the Women and Child Development Ministry, Vasudha Mishra.
Nrityanjali, an NGO working with the HIV-positive, is helping Vamsi get admission to a residential school.
The organisation is also assisting Vamsi's mother, Jayalakshmi - a 21-year-old widow – secure an accommodation in Hyderabad.
"There are homes for children like him, so we'll be sending him there," says Director of Nrityanjali Narsing Rao.
Many NGOs are also coming up with AIDS awareness campaigns in the city.
"I saw the report on CNN-IBN and was shocked that such stigma still exists. We'll be meeting and educating the anganwadi teachers in that area," says the Regional Director of NGO Lepra Society, Vijayakrishnan.
For Jayalakshmi and her child, these initiatives offer much-needed support and for the HIV-infected, it gives a new hope in their battle against the disease.
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