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<HTML><html> <body> Hi. <BR>I found this little girl at a website all about a section of India that people in the West seldom know about. <BR>Her name is Radha and she's about 4 years old. She could be your daughter, or mine---but in fact she's Nobody's Daughter because she's an abandoned kid. She was discovered in a terrible condition in Gwalior in central India. She has AIDS (and was probably abandoned by an AIDS infected mother because of it). <BR> <BR> <BR>I downloaded her picture and info about her from the volunteers website about this Childrens Hospital for kids like Radha. Things were starting to look up for the poor and disabled children in this desolate region. But AIDS has changed the picture dramatically. There's really nowhere for Radha and others like her to go. It seems that HIV/AIDS is starting to be a big problem in India---and almost no-one wants to know about it. <BR>Read on page two of the news letter, what Dr. Sharma says.... <BR><br><b>From the Doctor's Diary </b><BR><br>During my last visit to India in February this year, I came across this pretty little four-year old girl, who had been abandoned. She was brought to Mercy Home in a moribund state, gasping and close to death. We took her to the Hospital, where she was treated successfully but found to be HIV positive. She is a happy, normal child now living second life, but children such as this have created a dilemma for us: she is a risk to other children! Are other children suffering the same illness? They do not or cannot understand the problems nor protect themselves, as many of them have profound learning disabilities or mental illness. Should we treat Radha with costly maintenance regime for HIV at the cost of services to other children for our limited resources, which we can hardly afford as such? <br><BR>But we have no suitable place available for them, the government is not interested, and there is no other place in the region where they can be cared for. <br><BR><b>A hospice for such children is needed desperately</b>, as I fear that if we don't take action ourselves, the infection will spread, leading to a potential disaster. <BR><br>The obvious answer is a special hospice for such children, but once again, money is the problem. At the moment, little Radha lives in the children's hospital, and is provided with normal care and education through the Sunrise International School. <br><BR>We intend testing all children for HIV/AIDS; if more are found, they will have to be moved to the hospital as well. And with each child tested positive, our problem grows that much more urgent. <BR><br><b>The situation is perilous</b>. For the last two years, we have been considering a help line and counselling centre for HIV; we also have plans for a hospice, but could not do so for lack of funds. However now with the finding of little Radha, the seriousness of our situation has come to the fore. Please place this plan at the top of your 'things to do' list, and begin raising funds for Radha. <BR><br>And remember that she is not the only one in urgent need of a safe haven to live, where the danger of infection is controlled as much as possible. Radha was probably abandoned by her parents because it was discovered she had HIV; Radha will not be the last. We need to prepare for a hospice urgently for such children for their care and treatment, if possible as an emergency situation, but we need money for same. Please help for this emergency situation to treat such children and to establish a hospice. It will just cost £100K to provide a hospice to care for 20 children and £20 per month to provide treatment. Just go to our donation page and either donate on line or send your cheques in the name of “Gwalior Childrens Hospital-Hospice appeal” to charity’s registered address at 14, Magdalene Road, Walsall, WS1 3TA (U.K.). Now with this child there, the need is more urgent. Please donate whether large or small amounts in Indian Rupees, sterling pounds, euros, dollars or any convertible currency to make this hospice as an emergency requirement. <BR><br><b>Radha will not be the last</b>. Let us act now, and begin to take steps to prepare for those who will come to us in the future. And please, please remember: 'Without our children, there would be no future'. <BR><br>If you can help Dr. Sharma and his team of volunteers please click here for credit card donations or use a CAF card here. You can find out more about the Gwalior Childrens Hospital at the website that made me notice little Radha and her terrible problem. Clicking on this link will take you to it. <BR><br>Thanks for reading...and thanks for your help. I know it will be welcome. </body> </html></HTML>
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