infrastructure.
Later,
thanks to the Armenian Church, Kolkata, OFFER bought
a 50-cottah land in Gudipara, South Gobindpur, and built
two double-storied buildings. One of the buildings is
a residential unit for the HIV-infected children and
the other is a hospital.
The
new unit was inaugurated on 1 December 2006, World Aids
Day, by the president of the Armenian Church, Mr. Haik
Sookias Jr. Member of Parliament Dr. Sujan Chakraborty
was present.
Though
Anandaghar is still looking for a sponsor to take care
of the daily expenses, it has begun providing
•
Health
services
•
Nutritious
food
•
Vaccination
•
Education
Anandaghar
presently accommodates children from North 24 Parganas,
Howrah, Kolkata, Hooghly, South 24 Parganas, Bardhaman,
West Medinipur, Bankura, Nadia, and Cooch Behar.
Policies
governing admission of children to Anandaghar
• First preference is given to an abandoned
child. (When we receive information that an abandoned
child has been found, our team rushes to the spot. The
police station of the area in which the child is found
is informed. The child is brought to Anandaghar and
a medical check-up is done. Within 72 hours of admission,
custody of the child has to be sought from Child Welafre
Committee. A card has to be got from the School of Tropical
Medicine for each child. The child is then enrolled
in a formal school.)
•
Children with a single parent come next.
•
Third preference is for children whose parents are not
able to look after them. Before admitting any child,
we prepare a case study on the child. The OFFER team
then visits the child’s home and collects data.
We also network with our district teams and consult
them. We then collect referral letters. On the basis
of all these criteria, OFFER decides whether or not
to accept a child. Activities at Anandaghar
•
Networking with HIV+ persons at Kolkata Network Plus
(KNP+) and Bengal Network Plus (BNP+): Offices like
BNP+ have set up centres in districts like Howrah, Hooghly,
South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, etc., so that
services can be offered under one umbrella and HIV+
people can be organised better. Through these centres,
it is now easier for community workers to identify HIV+
children and bring them to the safe environs of Anandaghar.
•
Networking with the School of Tropical Medicine and
North Bengal Medical College. Only these two institutions
do the CD4 count test, which determines if a person
is HIV positive. n Collaborating with the UNDP and TAHA
Project since June 2006. This has resulted in:
~ Training of employees of other NGOs, OFFER’s
caregivers, community workers, ICDS employees, panchayat
members, and members of the local youth club on AIDS-related
issues.
~ Preparation of charts on weight/height of the
affected children and maintaining medical files of the
children
~ Preparation of IEC material for different training
programmes
~ Providing vaccination and medicine for HIV-infected
children
~ Awareness programmes for people in the villages
around Anandaghar
~ Collaboration with various government and non-government
institutions. For example, Christian Medical College,
Vellore, has collaborated with School of Tropical Medicine
for an HIV medicine fellowship. This course has been
offered to doctors associated with OFFER.
•
Securing admission for children of Anandaghar in government
primary schools.
•
All children of Anandaghar are registered with the School
of Tropical Medicine to enable proper treatment. |
