Charity Project "Pay It Forward": Story of Hope

Global E-learning giant SkyQuestCom has launched a new charity project called "Pay It Forward".

The term originates from the movie, "Pay It Forward", a story of how a boy who believed in the goodness of human nature set out to change the world. The campaign was launched with a simple, but critical mission: to bring hope to orphans ravaged by HIV/AIDS.

SkyQuestCom has chosen a home for orphans with HIV/AIDS in Chennai, India. The name of the home is "Shelter: Hope for Every One". In Chennai, the HIV/AIDS crisis has impacted the entire social structure, creating a generation of orphans and vulnerable children.

Learn about the various ways HIV/AIDS influences daily life from first hand accounts as related by the caretakers from Shelter. Read the story of one such child whom Shelter takes in.

Boy, 8, Left to Die by Desperate Mom

Senthil* is an 8 year old boy who has skin infections from his head to his toes with open wounds all over his body. His mother, who was at the back end of life herself wished he would die because she could not handle his suffering anymore. She literally said "I am dropping you here and would be happy if you died."

Imagine how tragic and painful it is to see one's own child wither and die. For Senthil's mom, it was her best solution. When Senthil was ¡°dropped off¡± at Shelter, a home for HIV-positive kids, the caretakers were saddened by his deteriorating condition as his health was ravaged by the effects of HIV/Aids. It was clear that without special medication and care, his mom's wish would become a reality.

Ironically, even with special medication that often come with terrible side effects, HIV/Aids still remains an incurable killer disease. Luckily for Senthil, he is now doing well at Shelter. He is smiling, he is going to school, and is one of the bubbly children they have in the home.

About the Beneficiary

Shelter's aim is to provide love, laughter and life to HIV-positive children.

There are HIV-positive kids and 4 HIV-positive women as staff in the home. 90% of the children have lost both parents. A couple more have a single parent who is not in a position to take care of them because they themselves are in the back end of life.

No Financial Support to Help Anymore Children

The shelter has had to turn down other kids who need help because they do not have the financial support to take on any more children. They do not currently have any support from the corporate sector, or government sector or international funding. Currently the shelter is only supported by friends, relatives and a few local individuals.

The shelter has difficulty finding proper schools for these children. If the kids have a fall or get sick, the shelter gets desperate calls from the school for them to come and take them. Emergency help from hospitals is difficult. Even simple issues like getting a haircut are difficult because they have boils all over their heads and it can stink quite badly. Barbers are not willing to come in and do a simple haircut.

There are also food issues; as some children have different dietary requirements and cannot eat the same things. Feeding them in front of others can be difficult because they may want certain foods that they cannot eat.

A Happy and Peaceful Home

With support from SkyQuestCom's "Pay It Forward" campaign, Shelter is able to provide a family atmosphere where these HIV-positive children can get love, laughter and are provided a quality life so that as long as they live, they have a happy and peaceful home.

Those interested in participating in the campaign - which will allow Shelter to benefit from proceeds - may do so by visiting http://TINYURL.COM/3CV0B5.

* To protect Senthil's identity, we have used a pseudonym.