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Living Positively
Purnata Bhavan is a place full of friendship and laughter in the hills outside Mumbai. It is home to women and children who are living with HIV or have been affected by HIV. They’re learning that HIV does not stop them from living and it doesn’t stop them from dreaming.
Sandesh’s story
Sandesh was only five when his mother was set alight during an argument with his father. The small boy grabbed onto her burning sari. He lost four fingers on one hand, was burnt down his side, and contracted HIV from the blood transfusions. His mother died of her burns.
Traumatized by his mother’s death, Sandesh was quiet and timid when he arrived at Purnata Bhavan. He found studying difficult and used to cry in frustration over his studies. He was given a lot of personal attention and over time he started warming up to people around him.
‘Now he is one of the most talkative kids here,’ says Bethany Wolf, one of the house parents at Purnta Bhavan. ‘He loves to spell big words, the bigger the word, the more excited he gets. His favourite question is why and he wants to know how everything works. He is in 3rd standard at the school run in Purnata Bhavan, and is doing well. He is a fun kid to be with.’
A new hope
At Purnata Bhavan, which means House of Wholeness, the women and children get HIV education from the nurses. They also get counselling from Seena, Accamma and Sabrina, Oasis India staff who travel up regularly to the home.
‘House parenting for the staff here is very intense. It’s almost a 24 hour job, it takes real dedication and passion. You’ve never quite finished with your work at the end of the day,’ Bethany admits.
‘The best thing about working here is seeing lives changed, seeing kids come in not being able to speak or walk or being really malnourished and watching the community embrace them, and watching sparkle come into their eyes.’
She says of Purnata Bhavan, ‘it’s a place where you see extreme hardship and you see people suffering in ways that you wish you didn’t, but you also do see beauty. And when it’s really hard, it’s important to remember the times when you see miracles.’
Rejection
Mohini and her daughter Alisha have been at Purnata Bhavan for almost four years. Mohini has learnt how to do tailoring and now works in production, earning money from her work. ‘I like to work. Each finished product brings me joy,’ she smiles.
She got married in 1994 but her husband passed away in 2000. After he died Mohini says her relatives didn’t want her to live with them in case she became a burden. ‘Nobody came to help me,’ she says, ‘I was alone with my daughter.’
Then Alisha fell sick and was admitted to hospital. She was tested and was found to be HIV positive. Mohini also tested positive. ‘It broke my heart when I heard about my daughter. We didn’t have much information about HIV. We thought we were gong to live for another 8 years or less. It just broke us and we were crying the whole day.’
A new family
They were in hospital for 5 months and could not go home. They were referred to another organization which contacted Sucheta and Nathan at Oasis India, who told Mohini about Purnata Bhavan. She says, ‘Because I didn’t have a home, I chose to come here.’
After losing her husband and being thrown out of home, Mohini has found a new family at Purnata Bhavan. She says, ‘We feel encouraged, we get love and care. All the staff are very supportive. It is like a family, brothers and sisters, we build a bond between us.’ She earns some money from her embroidery work but says, 'I feel that Purnata Bhavan is my home. I came here and I learned here. Receiving something is good, but I need to give, not to take.’
‘In Purnata Bhavan, we have a lot of sessions to learn about HIV. They teach us to live healthy and positive lives. The best thing is that my daughter, nobody can tell she has HIV. She looks so fine.’
‘Purnata Bhavan has brought meaning to our lives. I could be used as a teacher. I could teach and impart the skills that I learnt, tailoring and embroidery work, and definitely I would like to reach out to others in similar situations.’ And with tears in her eyes, she says of her daughter, ‘My wish is to give her the best, the things she needs. I want her to go to school and finish her studies.’
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