Meet the man behind the Chennai NGO that shelters children with HIV and helps them lead normal lives
Solomon Raj, often referred to as ‘Appa’, is giving a home and bringing smiles to 47 HIV+ children through his NGO, Shelter Trust. Here is his inspiring story to kickstart the new week.
After they got married in 1992, Solomon Raj and his wife, Felvia Shanthi, remained childless for eight years. The couple then thought of adopting a child, one who needed love and support.
Solomon Raj founded the Shelter Trust to help children with HIV.
Somehow, the process of adopting a child didn’t work and the couple dropped the idea. To their delight, they soon had their own biological child in 2000, but the thought of adopting a child remained at the back of Solomon’s mind.
He then met Arputharaj, a child with HIV whose parents had succumbed to AIDS—and who was without a home—through an NGO. He decided to take him under his wing and formally adopt him. A little while later, he adopted a girl with HIV as well.
Soon, word spread that Solomon was adopting children who were infected with HIV. When another person approached him to take in two more HIV+ children, Solomon decided to start a shelter for these children.
The 52-year-old is now considered the ‘Appa’ of 47 children with HIV in Chennai, as he has given them a home in the form of his NGO, ‘Shelter Trust’.
A day in the life of Solomon Raj
Solomon was born and raised in Hyderabad, and moved to Chennai for theological studies. He has been in Chennai for over 20 years. Today, he works three jobs - as a teacher at a theological college, at NGO Right Now Foundation, and at the Centre for Women’s Development and Research - to support children at the shelter.
“I start my day at around 6 am every day. I work at three different places: Tuesdays and Fridays I teach in a college, and need to be in class by 8 am. I finish at around 10.30 am and then I go to office (the Right Now Foundation or the women’s centre), in the evening I go to the shelter and play with the children. By 7.30 pm I go back to my own home. On the days I am not teaching, I go to the shelter at around 7 am and remain with the kids for a while. I then go to office (alternating between the two workplaces) and in the evening I do some paper work. This is a typical day,” he tells SocialStory.
Solomon feels strongly about the shroud of ignorance around AIDS, and wishes to dispel some of the myths through his work. “When I used to talk about HIV+ children, people were often sceptical as there was not much awareness about this in those days.”
Even close friends and extended family did not understand Solomon’s concern for these children.
“My relatives and friends discouraged me because this was something unknown of, and there was very little knowledge. I went through a lot of criticism and came across many negative thoughts. There were not many people who were backing my taking care of these children,” he recalls.
Undeterred, Solomon took them into his own care initially.
“I first started the shelter in my own home with my own children and family. We were all staying together, but our house is so small that after taking in three children we could not accommodate more. So I had to shift them to a better place,” Solomon explains. Then came the expensive task of setting up the shelter.
Building Shelter Trust
Solomon had to register his NGO with the child welfare committee to build the home for children in 2003. He used his own funds to build Shelter Trust. He began by supporting around eight children with his own funds, following which he received funds from friends and relatives, the Rotary Club of Madras, Lions Club, and other organisations.
But the mammoth task of hiring staff lay ahead of him.
“After finding a house for the shelter, employing people was a very big task, because nobody wanted to come and work with HIV+ children,” Solomon recalls.
The Shelter Trust in Chennai is now home to 47 HIV-positive children. .
He then came up with the idea of hiring staff that were HIV+ as well. He sent word to different hospitals and NGOs before putting together a team that could support the NGO and his children. Shelter Trust now employs 12 full-time staff; they are HIV-positive and live on campus.
However, there is no “sheltering” the children from the truth in this home.
“We tell the children what it means to be HIV-positive when they turn 10. We start orienting them on why they are here, the issues they are going through, how to protect themselves when they go to school, and the way to react to situations and society. We also make sure they understand the importance of regularly taking their medication,” Solomon says.
Today, all the 47 children—ranging from three to 18 years of age—under his care are aware that they are HIV+, and that they need to take pills for the rest of their life. Not all are orphans; most of them come from single-parent households, who find it difficult to support a child.
“Every child gets a licence (from the child welfare committee), which enables them to be under our support and care until they turn 18,” he says.
The children from the shelter are enrolled in government schools. He continues to keep an eye on them even after they turn 18, supporting some for higher education. Some children have even come back and worked as employees.
“It brings me immense happiness when they all call me ‘Appa’,” Solomon says.
The road ahead
Solomon says he has no plans of expanding his NGO, but wants to work on other projects such as the “homecare support project”.
Children with 'Appa' Solomon Raj at the Shelter Trust premises. .
“Through homecare support, we are working towards helping children in their own homes. We want to provide institutional care as a last resort, because we believe that children should stay with their families and be provided with support. Usually, because of poverty and lack of awareness, these children are set aside and are getting sent to places like ours. We are creating awareness and speaking to these families about having a HIV+ child,” Solomon says.
Under the homecare support project, Shelter Trust provides children with nutritional kits—comprising an egg, one fruit, and a milk packet—at their homes. It is also supporting some students with bags, fees, stationery, and other school items.
The organisation is currently helping 60 children outside of the shelter through this project, and is looking to expand this in the long run.
Speaking about his hopes and dreams for the future of the children at his shelter, Solomon says, “My only ambition is that like any other child, they get to grow up, find a home, settle down, and lead a good life. I also hope that someone comes out with a breakthrough medicine that will help cure HIV and AIDS. I want these children to have a better future, and good health.”
(Edited by Evelyn Ratnakumar)
