Rishi Children's Fund Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Travel Grant

The mission of the Rishi Children’s Fund at Johns Hopkins University is to advance research on how investments in children and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds can unlock their potential, leading to improved health outcomes and positive societal change. James Heckman, (2000 Nobel Prize in Economics) built a strong case for investing in disadvantaged youth, demonstrating high cost-benefit ratios and a net benefit to society.[1] Building on these principles, faculty and students at JHU, together with local community members and leaders are working to enhance societal benefits through mentorship and advocacy of disadvantaged youth. The Center for Global Health is providing scholarship opportunities supported by the Rishi Children’s Fund for interested JHU students to work on these projects.

Challenge: Over 15 million children lost one or both parents to HIV in 2020 in the world, according to UNICEF.[2] A substantial number, over 10% of the world’s HIV-related orphans live in India.[3] India is also home to the largest number of adolescents living with HIV, after excluding Sub-Saharan Africa.[4]^,[5] Beyond these staggering numbers, a harsh reality emerges. For children born with HIV, lifelong isolation, trauma and bereavement, societal stigmatization, and lack of educational opportunities result in failure to achieve true potential. These adversities profoundly impact these youth hindering their successful reintegration into society. Several programs in India are addressing these challenges through the incorporation of community-based participatory research that elevate voices of those within the community who can find feasible and sustainable public health solutions.  

Setting: There are several sites in India where these principles are being translated into practice. In Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in southern India, the I’mPossible Fellowship program and the Positive Running program provide mentorship and focus on physical health as an approach to fostering resilience in over 1,200 children and youth living with HIV. In Tamil Nadu, family camps are held for children living with and affected by HIV, where children can participate, learn new skills and are often transformed by these experiences. In West Bengal, a health literacy and educational program for children from tribal or marginalized backgrounds is in place. These sites provide opportunities for JHU students to experience robust immersion in field-based community health research for children, adolescents and young adults. The broad goal of this grant is to identify and address challenges faced by orphans and vulnerable children in India, thus providing an evidence base for a national and international audience.

Outcomes: Selected students will spend 8-16 weeks in India at one of the project sites and become part of an ongoing project or build on a related research question. At the end of the placement, students will present one or more of the following deliverables:

• A submission-ready manuscript 
• Data analysis that can be incorporated within a larger study
• Abstracts to be presented at an international conference
• A technical report or brief regarding the program
• Another deliverable determined in collaboration with the study/project team

Travel award: Selected students will receive a travel award of $3,500* to be used for travel and living expenses while completing their experience. An additional $500 will be available for use towards participation in a conference where your work has been accepted (conference registration, travel expenses).  

*Actual award amount may be less as taxes may be withheld depending on your country of  residence. 

Eligibility: This opportunity is open to full time Masters, Medical, and Doctoral students who are able to travel for a minimum of 8 continuous weeks at some point between January-December 2025.  Students must be enrolled during the entirety of the duration of  travel and cannot travel after their graduation date. Prior to travel, students selected for our programs must pass the online course International Travel Preparation, Safety and Wellness (220.600.81) through the Department of International Health.   

Application process: Interested students should prepare an application that relates to the theme of this scholarship: health and development of orphans and children in vulnerable situations. 

1. Students should start by contacting the faculty listed in this application  (Dr. Anita Shet and Dr. Sunil Solomon) via email to express their interest. They may propose a scope of work to be completed at one of the three project sites in India in a short letter of interest giving a general idea of what they would like to work on. 
2. From there, Drs. Shet and Solomon will connect students with the appropriate team lead in India to build out the idea and scope of work together. 
3. After collaboration with the team lead, students will then submit the application form 
4. A letter of recommendation from a  faculty advisor, professor, or supervisor should be sent to the Center for Global Health program officer at BSPH.ghgrants@jhu.edu. 

If you have any questions, please contact the program officer at BSPH.ghgrants@jhu.edu. 

[1] Heckman, James J. (2008) The Case for Investing in Disadvantaged Young Children, CESifo DICE Report, ISSN 1613-6373, ifo Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung an der Universität München, München, Vol. 06, Iss. 2, pp. 3-8.

[2] Children and HIV. UNICEF 2020.

[3] National AIDS Control Organization, India HIV Estimates 2021, Fact Sheet.

[4] UNICEF. HIV/AIDS. Global and regional trends, 2021. Available at: https://data.unicef.org/topic/hivaids/global-regional-trends/

[5] Slogrove AL, Sohn AH. The global epidemiology of adolescents living with HIV: time for more granular data to improve adolescent health outcomes. Curr Opin HIV AIDS. 2018 May;13(3):170-178.