Food, medicines & education for 45 HIV+ve orphans

Vishal aged 17yrs. was brought to Freedom Foundation at the age of 3 ½ yrs. from St. Catherine’s home, Bombay. He was found abandoned at a railway station when he was 2 months old and was picked up by the staff of St. Catherine’s home and cared for till 3+ years before coming to FF. Diagnosed with HIV he has come down with various infections during the years and was put on treatment for HIV in 2008 and continues to be on medication. This has resulted in great improvement of his health.

When he came to FF, he was put in Nursery and he studied in Tamil Medium till his 7^th standard. He was shifted to English Medium in std VIII. As he was below average in his studies, he was not able to manage; he failed once in std VIII and twice in his IX std. So he discontinued his studies since April 2014.

He is very much interested & talented in drawing. His body is rhythmic to dance and he is a very good dancer.

He was not interested in studies; he was counseled and taken to a consultant Psychologist with the complaints of forgetfulness, difficulties in writing, reading & arithmetic. On Binet Kamat Test of Intelligence he obtained a mental age of 8yrs and a prorated IQ of 64, indicating he is functioning at a level of mild mental retardation. On Vineland Social Maturity Scale, he obtained a Social Age of 8 yrs & 6 mths and a Social Quotient of 59. On NIMHANS Index of Specific Learning Disability, his attention was adequate, but had severe difficulties in all the areas of learning due to below average level of intelligence.

After discontinuation from school, to keep him engaged, with the help of Dr.Vijayaraman, he has joined for training in Art – Pilot class being conducted at St. John’s hospital every Saturday. Through this, he will be assessed and admitted to regular training classes later. He has also been suggested to look for a job-oriented certification course in art which will help him to move forward. But this is a challenge as we approached many institutes where he requires a minimum SSLC qualification.

His rehabilitation is a challenge however at FF we are all hopeful that something good will happen and he will eventually be able to stand on his own two feet and support himself in the outside world when the time comes.