Wedding bells ring for HIV+ couple in shelter home in Odisha

BERHAMPUR: Rising above a life-threatening health condition, an HIV positive couple tied the knot at a shelter home in Gopalpur-on-sea here on Saturday.

An emotional moment for the couple, the wedding ceremony turned more special with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and 5T secretary VK Pandian blessing the newly weds through video-conferencing. 

Both in their mid-twenties, the bride and groom took the marital vows at Shraddha Sanjivani Child Care Home (SSCCH) where they had spent their childhood and early youth before relocating to Hyderabad for work.

The orphaned duo had been brought to the shelter home when the girl was three-years-old and the boy, five. They set an example for many like them by completing their education, becoming self-reliant and then getting married. 

Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange, chairman of the shelter home, performed the ‘kanyadaan’. Also present were other dignitaries like Ganjam PD-DRDA Shinde Dattatraya Bhausaheb and  BeMC Commissioner Dr Siddeshwar Baliram Bondar. 

Founder member of SSCCH Lokanath Mishra said it was a proud moment for him and other members of the house to witness the marriage of the two HIV positive inmates. 

“I am extremely grateful to the CM and and VK Pandian for their support and participation in the ceremony,” he said. 

Set up in 2007, SSCCH was an initiative taken up by Pandian when he served as Ganjam Collector. It provides shelter and rehabilitation to HIV infected orphans and other vulnerable children. Expressing gratitude to the CM, the newly-wed couple said they will encourage others to defy the odds, shake off the stigma attached to HIV and get on with their lives.