Lovejoy kids launch nonprofit for HIV-stricken children

Most teenagers find it hard enough juggling school, family and friends. Twin 17-year-olds Anisha and Arjun Srivastava, however, have added a whole new level of responsibility to their daily routine.

This summer, the Lovejoy High School students will launch their own nonprofit, go M.A.D. (Make a Difference), which raises money for children born with HIV living in orphanages in India.

One hundred percent of the funds raised will go to the Right Now Foundation, a British nonprofit which operates such 11 orphanages, which exclusively house HIV-positive children, across India.

The twins were inspired to help the children after their last visit to their grandmother's house in Chennai, India in summer 2011. They were introduced to Right Now Foundation President Stewart Botting, who was renting a flat on their grandmother's property.

The pair, in search of a summer charity project, were taken by Stewart to one of the orphanages three hours from town, where they met several of the home's residents and were immediately moved.

"The whole area was pretty rural and it wasn't developed, but when you went to the home, it was such a beautiful home, especially for India," Anisha said. "There's so much poverty. Typically orphanage homes aren't set up so nicely. It was just a really nice home and we thought the whole foundation was amazing and we really wanted to help out."

The organization started out as a school club, established as soon as Anisha and Arjun returned from India. Funds were primarily raised through bake sales and wrist bands. But now, with the help of their parents, they're well on their way to turning the project into a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

The pair's chosen method of spreading the message? Music, especially of the local variety. On June 11, they held their first major fundraiser at Watters Creek with help from artists spanning genres from jazz to beatboxing. All performers were students from their school.

At the concert, space for which provided at no cost by Watters Creek, the siblings raised more than $1,000 in ticket sales and on-site donations -- enough to support 41 orphans for a month.

"I remember when we came back [from India], the goal that I was kind of hoping for was $2,000 for the rest of high school," Anisha said, "and we've already done that in one night."

A website for the organization is under development, and ideas for diverse follow-up events are already being planned, including a run for the cause, Sonic fundraising nights and a World AIDS Day festival on Dec. 1. The pair have written to LISD Superintendent Ted Moore in hopes of giving presentations about their cause at Lovejoy campuses.

"One of the things I did was I contacted my cross country team and told them about the cause, and they were all really moved about it," Arjun said. "Every Friday, they go through their house and their friend's [homes] and they get a bunch of old shoes. They bring them over and I pick them up and they're all in my garage and we're going to ship them over to this orphanage."

The effort is not the first of its kind by the pair. For five years, they lived in Thailand, and while attending elementary school at the prestigious Harrow International School they raised money for victims of the 2004 tsunami. Shortly before leaving, they raised money to build new roofs for orphanages in Chang Mai.

But it is this cause, in particular, that they say will stick with them for a lifetime. Arjun said the experience at the orphanage inspired him to study medicine, and both say they want to continue the nonprofit well into their adult lives.

"These children, they don't have any choice," Arjun said. "That really impacted us, just to see how brave they were and how courageous they were given their circumstances."

While the plan is to start local, both siblings hope they can take their organization worldwide through international contacts made during their travels to more than 20 countries around the world.

"It's so rewarding knowing you're making a difference, especially knowing that I have so much," Anisha said. "I've been given education. I've been given everything that I need. There are kids that just might be born to another family in another country have nothing, and it's so fulfilling knowing you can help them out."

Both credit their passion for charity to their parents and grandmother, who dedicated 14 years of her life helping raise her grandchildren.

"I was hanging out with some of these children with HIV, and they're no different from my friends," Arjun said. "The jokes they were making, I could relate to them. It's just so unfortunate, their circumstance. After seeing what we saw, I just told myself that's what I want to be doing: I want to be giving back to these children."

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