All Children. Our Children

Blog 27 of 30

Working with children infected with HIV was satisfying, fascinating, interesting, and challenging from the point of view of someone in communications. 

I loved working on the radio campaign, on the script, on what the children would say, what would go on air, getting it vetted for consistency, for accuracy and effectiveness. 

The campaign was called Petralthan Pillaiya which literally translates to – “do you need to be a biological parent to care for a child?” For simplicity, we translated it to “all children, our children. “

But sometimes success can be a challenge. The campaign ran so successfully for two years that we had a problem on our hands. Population Services International had come to the end of their funding. They were leaving Chennai and could no longer give backend support to the campaign. It would have been orphaned, and that broke my heart, because I had poured so much of my work and energy and enthusiasm into the project. 

There was only one possibility. To set it up as an independent trust. The two original partners, Mr Kamal Haasan and Mr Rajeev Nambiar of Hello FM quickly stepped up to register a trust – The Petralthan Pillaiya Trust.  

As I worked with numerous other trusts, I had conflict of interest issues, so could not be a trustee. However, I was happy to take over the management of the trust. 

I tend to do these things in life. I get caught up in the moment and make decisions. I got into Masterpage over a fortune cookie, I got into Kreeda over a whim, and I got into the Trust, through an emotional tug at my heartstrings. Obviously when I got into it, the entire Masterpage team got into it. What we did not know is how much work it was to run a Trust. 

Firstly, we had no funds. Until now PSI had been coordinating with the children across Tamil Nadu. We had almost 2000 children registered with the Trust at the time and keeping in touch with them was going to be a challenge, even if it was just for insurance. 

Mr Rajeev Nambiar, our founder trustee, had a brainwave and suggested that we reach out to the children through telephone. Telephone counselling and interaction was pretty much unheard of then. But thanks to the telecom boom, everyone had a mobile.

That’s what we did, and although we were hesitant at first, wondering whether it would have the personal touch of face-to-face counseling, what we did find was that the telephone being so inexpensive, allowed us to interact with the children more and more, thus leading to close relationships. 

In the first few years of the Trust, we were focused on health, on medication, and medical insurance, but we soon came to realize that with changing drug protocols, HIV was becoming more and more a manageable problem. 

Children were living longer and like children everywhere else, they had their dreams, their hopes for life. During the campaign recording of 2014, we invited some children along with caregivers to the radio station, to have an informal talk with Mr Kamal Hassan on air and discuss the challenges of living with HIV. An old grandfather, who was now caring for his grandson as both parents had died of HIV, broke down and wept. “Help me educate my grandson,” he said. He wants to study and I’m barely able to earn enough as a coolie to keep us alive.”

On that day, the Trust took a decision to educate children through college. We also realized that telephone interaction was proving more and more effective, and with careful management of data, we were able to make a difference in the lives of numerous children. Today, over 100 HIV positive children have passed through college, thanks to the Trust and we are in constant contact with almost 1000 children, guiding them on life, on their educational choices, helping them through adolescent issues, through tough times and even in some cases through marriage. Our counselors are available 24/7 when a child needs help, and on a weekly basis, regular discussions on each child help us chart the way forward.

This is what I always wanted to do. Have direct impact on the lives of people. From time to time, I have mentored the children as well and I will never forget one young boy who I spoke to just a couple of months ago. I called him up for some reason and he greeted me with such joy, and said, “Ma’am, but for you and your guidance, I wouldn’t be where I am today.” Today after finishing his bachelor’s and Master’s, he is working successfully in a company in Delhi. He is traveling, seeing the country and living life on his own terms. 

Many of the children greet me fondly when I speak to them, they remember me, they remember the words that I’ve said to them, and I know many of them. I know their stories, I know what makes them laugh, what makes them tick, and what makes them struggle.  I have learned from them about how one can dream impossible dreams, beat unbeatable foes, and still find reasons to smile.

Through this trust, I have acquired responsibility for almost 1000 children. It is a huge responsibility. There are occasions when everything else piles up and I struggle finding time. But then that’s what we do for our children and after all – all children are our children.