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Not only HIV/AIDS itself but also its social implications for India and especially for the infected and affected people there are tremendous. Children infected or affected with the disease are especially vulnerable. They experience a variety of social and emotional problems such as social isolation, denial of education, lack of love, care, affection, loss of self-esteem as well as various trauma related to the reduction of living standards, neglect by the extended family and friends and to illness and death of parents and/or siblings. This book deals with the experiences that children make and shows how they handle and perceive the situation they are in. It shows how they react to the traumas arising from the social implications, how infected children deal with their own infection and how affected children react to the illness of their parents. Further it discusses the help provided by three organizations which have taken the challenge of addressing the topic and the reactions of participants towards this help as well as their individual coping strategies and their opinions on what extra help or change would be needed to positively influence their situation.

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Ariane Lavente nee Petney is a state-approved social worker B.A. SRH Technical University Heidelberg and medical anthropologist M.A University of Heidelberg. She currently works in turns as a social worker in Germany and as a Health Promotion Officer for a medical humanitarian organisation.

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