LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION TOOLKIT FOR ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN INDIA• 33
Review- How are the different members of the family reacting?
- How did the community respond?
(Draw the children’s attention to the fact that the next step after denial is usually anger. Anger can be
shown in irritableness, in fighting. When we are upset, we do not study well either.) - How do you look after a person living with HIV/AIDS? What precautions should you take?
(Discuss how HIV is transmitted and not transmitted. A person living with HIV needs rest, food and
love like anyone else. HIV is not transmitted by casual contact and touch.) - What should Ashok’s mother do?
- What should Ashok do?
- Can his friend help?
Part Three
One day the health worker came to visit and had a long chat with Ashok’s mother. She would sit
and think, quiet most of the time. One day she called Ashok and told him that he would have to
learn to be brave because she depended a lot on him and he was a good boy. She told him that
his father had died of AIDS and had passed on the infection to her. That is why she was so sick.
She said that the health worker had said that if she rested and ate good food she could still work
and live. She did not want Ashok to give up his studies.
He began helping his uncle at the garage for a few hours every day and started earning some
money. It was a bit difficult because he had to give up cricket and had to study late. But they
managed. He told his friend Vinod and he too would come to help. Sometimes Ashok and his
sister would sit by his mother and just talk.
One day his mother called him and told him that she wanted to start putting things together so that he
would know where everything was in case she was not there. He was so angry that he left the house.
He came back very late at night; he had been crying under the tree behind the temple.
The health worker came to visit and asked Ashok to join in the discussions with his mother. A lot of
things had to be done and the worker showed Ashok how the medicines had to be given to the
mother, which she now had to be fed. The worker especially told him that he must come to the center
to meet a person from an organization who was helping children like him.Review- How did Ashok feel when his mother told him about HIV?
- What were the reactions of his mother and Ashok?
- What is Ashok doing to help his mother and the family?
- How do you think he is feeling? How is his friend helping? Can he do something else?
(At this stage the children should be told that after denial and anger, one learns to accept, and with
acceptance comes preparation for making decisions that will help and provide comfort.)
Incorporate the suggestions of the children and move on.