Ten-year-old Himanshu, like any other kid of his age, goes to school, likes to watch cartoons, loves cricket and wants to become a doctor when he grows up. Similar is the story of Sachin, a student of class four, who likes to watch the popular tele-series Gali Gali Sim Sim .
They are normal children in every way except for one fact — they are all HIV positive. And so are their friends Deepak, Jyoti, Priyanka, Manish and eight other children between the ages of four and eleven, who were part of a recent event organised by FIO in association with Drone Foundation.
During the event held at the Garden of Five Senses, the children indulged in an afternoon of fun and laughter. They were taken in golf carts for a ride around the sprawling garden followed by a special screening of their favourite TV show Gali Gali Sim Sim . A number of gifts were also distributed among the children by the assembled gathering.
These children live in a home run by Drone Foundation, a city-based non-governmental organisation working for HIV positive children. The Foundation highlights the fact that most often when people talk about HIV/AIDS, the focus is always on adults and the problems they face. It is never on the children who have been robbed of their very right to life for no fault of theirs. Sunita Gupta, the founder of the NGO, said, “It was my husband's dream to do something for these children, he is no more but through my NGO I try to fulfil his dream.”
The special day for these special children was organised at FIO Country Kitchen and Bar at the Garden of Five Senses. Among others, chess champion Tania Sachdev spent quality time with the kids. She called it “an amazing experience”, adding that she was “fortunate” to help these kids.
