A grandmother and an orphanage caregiver strive to provide a happy childhood for a group of children with HIV/AIDS who have been cast aside from their school and are living in a cemetery complex.
A grandmother and an orphanage caregiver strive to provide a happy childhood for a group of children with HIV/AIDS who have been cast aside from their school and are living in a cemetery complex.
Project Background
According to UNICEF in 2022, more than 2,5 million children and adolescents aged 0-19 are living with HIV. As of 2022, roughly 13.9 million [10.6-18.4 million] children under the age of 18 in Latin American, Asian and African Countries had lost one or both parents to AIDS-related causes. (Unicef, 2023) They experience discrimination and encounter obstacles in accessing their fundamental rights from an early age.
In Indonesia, children with HIV/AIDS (CWHIV) experience discrimination and encounter obstacles in accessing their fundamental rights despite government regulations at both the national and regional levels. Stigma of the disease continues to impede the fulfilment of these basic rights.
The caregivers at Lentera Orphanage are aware that, as CWHIV, these children are vulnerable to being ostracised. They have devised scenarios to ensure that Lentera’s children do not have to disclose details about their lives in the orphanage. However, when their HIV status is revealed, parents of other children pressure them to leave the school. Through the determination of the Lentera staff, Puger (49), along with the support of Ngatiyem (65), the grandmother of one of the children with HIV, the children at Lentera are growing, playing, and learning with the time they have.
Through the impact distribution of PLANET OF LOVE, we seek to encourage more consistent and sustainable implementation of CWHIV-friendly school regulations.
Impact Goal
We want to build a network of CWHIV-friendly schools in Indonesia through:
Network of Love
Together with Yayasan Lentera Surakarta, we aim to establish this network in the five cities with the highest number of CWHIV cases in Indonesia. The objective is to ensure that parent committees optimally implement the mandate of creating CWHIV-friendly schools. Furthermore we are optimistic that this network can also expand globally to countries with a high population of children and adolescents living with HIV.
Impact Distribution Strategy
Within two years, we will establish the Network of Love in schools across five target cities. Specifically, we will target three types of audiences:
