Food to Fight HIV

Fifteen-year-old *Ivy is HIV+. She lives with her grandmother, after her mother died and her father abandoned them. Home life is tense – there have been numerous angry altercations with neighbours, who say they don’t want to live near someone with HIV. Ivy has run away four times.

Ivy is one of 28 children and young people with HIV who are being supported with extra nutrition, through Global Care’s Children at Risk programme, to boost their ability to fight HIV/AIDS. Good nutrition is essential when living with HIV but can be very difficult to achieve for the poorest families. This specialist feeding programme is run by our partners at the Kadella Centre, one of the only organisations supporting people ‘living positively’ with HIV/AIDS in Sri Lanka.

The Kadella feeding programme was the focus of our 50 Miles in 30 Days walking challenge in January 2025 – a massive thank you goes to everyone who took part, and to everyone who sponsored our walkers. You helped raise a total of £6,350 and have genuinely impacted young lives over the last year.

Advocacy

As well as food, the team deliver a broader package of welfare support and advocacy. They have been working closely with Ivy and her grandmother, helping them to work with their community to challenge the discrimination they experience. It is a heavy burden for Ivy to carry, but sadly, it is all too common for people living with HIV/AIDS.

This was evident during a recent visit by Global Care’s CEO John White. He met Ivy, and also a young couple who had discovered they were both HIV+ during the woman’s pregnancy. They were living with a family member but were immediately evicted in fear of their diagnosis. Now, three years later, with a young daughter, they had just been evicted again, when another landlord discovered their diagnosis. The Kadella Centre housed the young family temporarily and helped them find new jobs so they could pay for new accommodation. “Discrimination is an ongoing battle,” reflects John. “But because the Kadella team are living positively themselves, they are uniquely placed to support families and are doing an amazing job.”

Isolated and overwhelmed – seen and understood

Counsellors at Kadella also work with young people as they grow through puberty and come to a greater understanding of their own condition. Often as children’s awareness grows, they respond emotionally, with anger, distress or denial. Perhaps they want to stop taking their medication, or are filled with anger at their parents, whom they blame for their infection, or are filled with shame or anxiety about their illness. The Kadella team work closely with families to help them navigate such challenges. “Many families feel isolated and overwhelmed, and the presence of a caring team helps them feel seen and understood,” our partners say.

In the last six months alone, the team made 39 home visits to the children in the feeding programme, even though some live a good distance from the centre.  Our partners explain: “Through these visits, families become better informed, more confident in handling the situation and often more open to receiving help. Over time, this leads to a more positive and productive impact, not only in managing the condition but also in strengthening family bonds, improving health outcomes and creating a more stable and hopeful home environment.”

Thank you for supporting the work of the Kadella Centre, through our 2025 50 Miles Challenge, or as a monthly Children At Risk partner. It’s one of those initiatives where a little goes a long way, impacting young lives for good. We couldn’t do it without the help of people like you!