People supported by our Foundation often repeat: “We are less depressed by disease then by dependence on others help”. In January 2008 Elena Franchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation in a partnership with Ukrsotsbank has finished pilot project. Due to this project HIV-positive children and their foster families will be more independent from charities. For the first time in Ukraine bank technologies are used to help HIV-positive people. For each of 15 adopted children - participants of the project – ANTIAIDS Foundation opened a 5 000 USD deposit with increased interest rate and special terms of payment provided by Ukrsotsbank. Monthly foster parents will draw interest, when child will achieve 18 years – the whole deposited sum could be used to their discretion, for example, as education fee or mortgage credit.

Funds for deposit project were raised during charitable auction in March 2007, where social collection Fashion AID created by 30 Ukrainian designers was sold out. 86,250 USD of more than 200,000 USD raised during the auction were directed to the deposit program for 15 adopted children. 9 foster families with HIV-positive children at the age of 3 – 11 years from Donetsk, Kiev, Makeyevka, Krivuj Rig, Mariupol and Odessa took part in the project.

The main goal of the project is to make people we help independent of us and external circumstances. Support has to be guaranteed and shouldn’t request extra efforts to get it. The project was created as a result of this idea and realized with the help of one of the biggest Ukrainian banks – Ukrsotsbank.

Monthly interest was customized for this project according to the special terms of this program provided by the bank (for HIV-positive children – participants of the project – maximum interest rate was fixed, enlarged for 2 extra rates, it is 14,5 interest at the moment). Mechanism of the deposit program gives HIV-positive people and their foster families the confidence in the future. We strongly believe they have a future and we work to make it happen.