By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Bensy and Benson, the two HIV positive children who fought a gritty battle to prevent schools in Kerala from turning them away a few years back, have developed health complications.
The elder of the two, 13-year-old Bensy, is suffering from chest infection and has become very weak, doctors at the SAT Hospital here said. She was admitted to the hospital Friday.
Lalitha Kailas, the doctor treating Bensy, told IANS she now weighs 16 kg.
“Due to depression, she has not been eating regularly. That is why she lost weight and had to be admitted. We have given her counselling and she has started eating again,” Lalitha said Monday.
Bensy’s brother, 11-year-old Benson, is also under observation at the hospital.
The two children got infected from their parents, who passed away a few years ago.
Bensy and Benson got a lot of media attention when, led by their grandfather, they barged into the state secretariat when A.K. Antony was the chief minister, seeking his intervention to stop schools from turning them away.
In 2004, after two years of struggle, they were re-admitted to the government run school near their home at Chathanur in Kollam district, about 50 km from here.
However, their grandfather died in 2005, leaving them in the care of their grandmother who suffers from various ailments, including poor eyesight.
“Bensy will have to remain hospitalised for a few more days. We are giving her the requisite treatment and are sure that there is nothing to worry about at the moment,” Lalitha said.
The fight put up by these two children to get access to education drew attention to the plight of HIV positive children and the silver lining today is that the Left government is considering cancelling the registration of schools that ostracize such children.