SNEHACARES MATCHING SAVINGS PROGRAM

The first known case of HIV in India was in 1986. The virus spread very quickly in India and today there are about 5 million people living with HIV. Children born to parents with HIV from 1986 to early 2000 were generally undiagnosed until they were 6-7 years old. By this time, their parents had passed away from AIDS and almost all the kids born to such HIV infected parents ended up in orphanages. With the rapid increase of this virus among farmers and poor communities, government agencies worked hard to identify these children and start them on anti-retroviral therapy. They were educated and cared for in the orphanages but discharged from their custody and supervision when they turned 18 years old. In Bangalore, there are about 55,000 such young adults living with HIV. These young adults are employed as delivery boys, waitresses, salesgirls, etc., earning minimum wages. Their aging grandparents usually cannot support them, and extended families have often misappropriated their inheritance. These young adults have no financial support or backing if they get sick and no assistance if they want to pursue higher education or even rent an apartment. These young men and women face the prospect of living in poverty and hardship for the rest of their lives if we do not lift them up.

SnehaCares has taken a step forward to give them a hand and lift them up. Our goal through SnehaCares Matching Savings Program is twofold, 1) educate them about money 2) encourage them to save for their future through incentive. Our officers have encouraged and educated them to save a small amount every month and SnehaCares will match their savings up to Rs.25,000 (approximately $350) per year for five years. We introduced this idea to a group of young adults during a Zoom meeting in May 2023. They are excited about the possibility of having a fixed deposit account in their name and saving for their future. We have currently signed up thirteen young adults in this program and hope to extend it to many more young adults. If you would like to contribute, please send a check to SnehaCares Inc. 1803 Geary Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94597 or contribute through our website link, https://www.snehacares.org/donate.

Below are the participants in the SnehaCares Matching Savings Program:

Name                   Age             Sex

Adarsh                 20               Male

Akila                     19               Female

Deepika               21               Female

Johncy                  50               Female

Kavya                   23               Female

Maria                   20              Female

Megha                 25               Female

Nagaraj               24               Male

Prajna                  28               Female

Priyanka               22               Female

Rakshith               28               Male

Renjith                 26               Male

Shilpa                  23               Female