Nutrition support and regular follow-up helped Krishna return to school and dream again.

Krishna (name changed), a HIV infected semi-orphan boy, hails from a small village near GMR Kakinada Special Economic Zone. His father died with AIDS and his mother, who is also HIV positive, is dependent on her parents. Due to less immunity, she frequently falls sick and is unable to go for any work. The ill health in the family severely affected their economic condition, and Krishna had to drop out of education after Std. III.

During a field visit, GMRVF staff learnt about Krishna’s family and about his medical condition. He was a shy child who secluded himself from the outside world. Added to this, his grandparents were unable to provide him with nutritious meals due to their insufficient income.

GMRVF identified Krishna among 40 other under-privileged children living with HIV in that area. In order to build their immunity, the Foundation began to provide them a nutritious kit on a monthly basis. The kit includes 5 kgs of rice, 1 kg of wheat, jiggery, dal, ragi powder, black gram, groundnuts and dates. GMRVF colleagues also monitor their intake of medicines and their CD4 count (CD4 count is a means of measuring the functioning of immune system).

GMRVF staff also counselled him on the importance of completing his education and fulfilling his dreams. He then re-enrolled in a nearby government school and slowly began showing interest in academics. In March 2019, Krishna passed his Std. X with 8.2 CGPA with academic support being provided by the Foundation.

Krishna is now enrolled in Intermediate with Biology, Physics and Chemistry as the main subjects and aspires to invent a medicine for the deadly disease of HIV/AIDS in future.