Journalism of Courage
Amboli Village in Surat – A School Apart
1 / 7Until last year, Amboli village in Surat celebrated Independence Day at its panchayat school. That was before it realised 32 HIV+ students were on its rolls. A year on, they are the only children left in the school. (Source: Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana)
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2 / 7The youngest child at the school is six years old while the oldest is 14. Twenty of them are orphans while the others have one surviving parent. (Source: Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana)
3 / 7Shilpa and the 31 other HIV+ students, who joined the school in June last year, are all residents of Janani Dham, a hostel for HIV+ girls in the village that’s run by P P Sawani, a Surat-based business group. (Source: Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana)
4 / 7Four days after the girls joined school, villagers met principal Tara Patel and threatened to pull their children out if the new students weren’t asked to go. (Source: Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana)
5 / 7Every morning, the girls set off from their hostel at 10.15 so that they are in school by 10.30. The older girls are up at 6 am, get the younger ones out of bed, fold their bedsheets and pile them up in the cupboards. Shilpa and three other girls who are in their teens take charge of the younger ones. (Source: Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana)
6 / 7Shilpa says the school counseled her relatives and so, she now gets to play with her cousins when she visits them. (Source: Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana)
7 / 7Vaishali, 13, of Class VII, says they have learnt to deal with injuries on the playground. She says confidently, “But we do not allow teachers to dress our wounds — we know our blood is dangerous”. (Source: Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana)
