Meet Papa Reji, A Superdad Who Saved 22 HIV-Positive Kids By Loving Them As His Own

Papa Reji is a man par excellence. A father to over 24 children -22 of them are HIV-positive and adopted, Reji looks after them as his own. His story is inspiring to anyone who reads it, because that's the effect he has on people who want to do right by the world. 

In his tete-a-tete with Humans of Bombay, Papa Reji opened up about how his journey with these kids started - one that is sure to continue for life.

In his conversation, he talks about the incident that changed the course of his life:

"I was passing DY Patil hospital one day when I saw a girl sleeping outside -- weak to the point that you could see her bones. I found out that she was HIV positive and had lost both her parents. I asked what she would like to eat and she said noodles, but I couldn't find them anywhere so I promised her I would return the next day. She passed away that night and that incident kept haunting me, so I went inside the hospital and asked them to contact me if there were any such children in the future."

Humans of Bombay

At first, it was difficult to make ends meet, but he and his wife never lost hope:

"In 2009, I took a space on rent in Navi Mumbai for my wife, my two children and the two HIV positive children. At first it was difficult to make ends meet -- we could afford one mattress on which my 4 children slept and my wife and I would make do without. Eventually, people started donating -- beds, grains and money. My family of 4 slowly expanded to 24 as more and more children with HIV were sent to me."

His children are his pride and he never differentiates between them:

"My wife has been a rock solid support and we've never differentiated between our children - we scold all of them, love all of them and give them the same gifts. My wife cooks for all 24 of our children, looks after their medication and takes them for their medical check ups. We've tried to give all of them a good education and make sure that they have a life worth living."

He is lovingly called 'Papa Reji' and wouldn't have it any other way:

"I can proudly say that my family of 24 is overflowing with love! Being HIV positive doesn't mean that they have to cut their life short...they can live as long as any normal person and that's what I'm here for...to save them and give them a long life. And with love and care, everything is possible. These children all call me 'Papa Reji' and it's the duty of a father to protect...so I'm not someone special - I'm just a father looking after my children."

You can read his full story here.