Because You Said Yes | August Round Up For Orphans Report
A Welcome of Hope and Healing
Gan Sabra HIV Home and Community Program
Aizawl, India
In far northeast India, a woman named Lucy welcomes the orphaned and the vulnerable into her special family. For children living with HIV, the welcome is the beginning of a journey of healing and hope.
Many of the 25 children living at Gan Sabra HIV Home have been rejected by family, treated as sources of shame, or even locked away due to societal fears. Children living with HIV in India are also often deprived of an education because schools refuse to accept them. But that’s not the case at Gan Sabra. Because of Lucy’s diligence, her children are able to study at a local school in the nearby town of Aizawl.
Lucy’s work extends beyond the four walls of the children’s home to the local community, where she and her team provide wraparound care for struggling families. The team ensures the families have nutritional basics, access to medical care, and educational support for the children. And through initiatives like a formula program to eliminate transmission of HIV from mother to infant, those transmission rates are non-existent.
“Lucy sees the person with HIV as fully capable of living a rich, purposeful and meaningful life until the day the Lord calls them home,” says Ronne Rock, Engagement Manager for Orphan Outreach. And because of the support of Porter’s Round-Up for Orphans, the children being provided care at both Gan Sabra HIV Home and the Gan Sabra Community Program are being provided the essentials of care they need to thrive.
"When you walk into Gan Sabra and experience the atmosphere of the home, you would never realize these children have HIV until you see them take their medicine,” says Amy Norton, Orphan Outreach Vice President of Strategic Partnerships. “It is a home full of joy, hope and laughter and that is due to Lucy’s care and love. Over the years, a number of the children have passed away due to their illness, but the children embrace that reality and are so mature in their faith and the reality of living with HIV. We want to empower Lucy to share with others around the country about holistic care of children with HIV so that love and care is multiplied for these kids."
