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heela and her three best friends Samraj, Pallavi, and Meena - come out of the fourth standard classroom with smiles on their faces. They are in a jolly mood to go home.
Samraj, Pallavi, and Meena always keep Sheela happy and help her with all her needs. They know that Sheela is HIV positive, but they do not share this with anyone else. They want Sheela to be able to live a normal life, and sometimes they wonder, “How is Sheela so positive and confident in everything she does?�
They all decided to find out how Sheela became so confident, they went to her house one Sunday. Sheela was so happy to have her best friends over. After many jokes and laughs, Samraj felt thirsty. He asked Sheela, “Can you bring me some water to drink?” And Sheela responded, “Of course, Samraj! I have boiled water and snacks for you all. Hey, you know, it's really important to drink only boiled water, so that we can prevent germs from entering our body.”
While they were all eating and chatting, Sheela's grandmother welcomed them. “Hello kids, how are you?” A little while later, Sheela said to her friends,“Hey! You three wait here with Grandma. I will go and get some toys for us to play with.” And she left home.
Grandma asked,“Tell me, why have you kids come to visit Sheela on a Sunday? Aren't your parents missing you?”
Pallavi replied,“Grandma, we have come to find out how Sheela became so confident. We are so impressed that she is able to get excellent marks in school, play well in sports, and always carry a smile on her face. We want to be like her!”
Grandma's warm smile lit up the room. She explained, “Oh! Come sit here kids, and I will tell you the secrets behind Sheela's confidence. Sheela wakes up early every morning. The first thing she does is freshen up, by brushing her teeth and washing her face. Then she spends at least 15 minutes singing songs and praying. While she prays, she thinks about everything she is grateful for in her life, including her family, her friends, and her parrot!” Grandma continued, “Afterwards, she opens her school bag and studies the lessons taught the previous day. Then she takes her bath and puts on her uniform.”
Pallavi jumped in, “Oh! She prays and studies in the morning!?” “And before leaving for school, Sheela never forgets to take her ARV medicine and make a tick mark on her calendar.”
Grandma continued, “Yes! And when she comes home from school, Sheela talks with her pet parott, Sonny, and helps me with my household work. She also plays often with other friends near our house. She always encourages her friends to eat healthy and stay away from junk foods like bubble gum and chips.”
Meena then asked Grandma, “How does Sheela get so many prizes and gifts?’’ Grandma replied, “You know, Sheela has a doctor uncle. He is very kindhearted and loves children like Sheela, who come to the hospital to receive ARV medication. He is the one who teaches her about health and hygiene. She has promised him to share what she has learned with as many kids as possible!” “Yes, I am so proud of Sheela. She also knows a lot about HIV and often informs others about being safe and caring for their loved ones.” “Every night before going to sleep, Sheela takes her ARV medicine and makes another tick mark on her calendar. So you see, kids, confidence comes from having a healthy attitude and a positive outlook on life.” “Sheela is lucky to have supportive friends like you. Her dream is that one day all children, whether infected or affected by HIV, may live their lives with confidence and happiness.”
“Sheela has come back with some toys for you all to play with. Ok, enough talking, children. Go have fun!” Confident and happy, Sheela and her three best friends played for hours that day…and for the many days, months, and years that followed.
What are ARV's?
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ARV's, or antiretrovirals, are medications that inhibit the replication of the HIV virus within the body. This protects the immune system of HIV positive individuals, making them less likely to get sick.
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When should I take ARV's? You should start ARV treatment if your CD4 count drops below 200 and/or if you have more than two opportunistic illnesses. Not everyone who is HIV positive has to be on medication to be healthy.
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How should I take ARV's? Before taking ARV's, you should receive special counseling at an ARV center to prepare you for treatment. First line ARV's are taken in the morning and night with a gap of 12 hours inbetween doses.
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About Buds of Christ Buds of Christ [BoC] is a humanitarian organisation working exclusively with children living with and orphaned by HIV and AIDS. We offer health, education and livelihood options for children and their families. Our mission is “To love, listen and lead children affected by HIV and AIDS to live life positively and be kids of hope and courage for their community”.
Contact: block Z - 2, ground floor SAF games village koyambedu, chennai - 600 107 +91 98407 70722 hope@budsofchrist.org
Improving Health of Children Living with HIV Sheela's confidence has been designed as an educational and motivational tool for children living with HIV to adhere to ARV treatment. Interactions with children affected by HIV revealed that most of the children are living with only the dreaded/fear based information of HIV. This book is intended to such children so that they are encouraged to access treatment and adhere to it .
Words from Children Every child should have their confidence and every children living with HIV should be like sheela’s friends - Saranya. 11 years children living with HIV should take ARV medicines regularly and have confidence like Sheela - Shravya,
13 years
We sincerely hope that this book will build the confidence of children living with HIV like that of sheela.
Words from Positive Women Network (PWN+)
Story: Jeyapaul Sunder Singh / Editor: Kavitha Kolappa / Illustrations: Shivakar / Design: Subramani Concept Social Light Communications
Copyright 2007 by Buds of Christ All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles
We take this opportunity to appreciate Buds of Christ in taking up this initiative to encourage children living with HIV on drug adherence. With the free ARV programme many are benefited, especially children. But the most challenging one is adherence to drugs and the book “Sheela's Confidence“ is truly an attraction for children we hope this will definitely encourage children on ARV towards adherence. We are pleased to partner with Buds of Christ in the release of this book that would benefit our children living with HIV.