JAIPUR: Austrian Magdalena Malzner celebrated her 50th birthday in Nevta area of Jaipur district on Saturday as proof of her special bonding with the Pink City.The place where she celebrated the birthday was not a hotel but a care home for children living with HIV/AIDS . The building was constructed with funds Malzner raised over the past five years from Austria to give a permanent residence to 40-odd children, who lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. These children have been living rented homes for the past 12 years and forced to shift at least 15 times.The birthday celebration was made special as the new building for the care home was inaugurated on the same day. "I will never forget this birthday," Malzner told ToI.Malzner raised 60,000 Euros on her own and persuaded an organisation called Karibu World, which chipped in with 60,000 Euros for the care home. "I raised 60,000 Euros and Karibu World also contributed an equal amount. Since Karibu World receives funds from the Austrian government, we can say that the government too helped in the construction of the building," she said.It was a challenging task for Malzner to raise funds in her country. "I faced problems initially. But then I showed them my presentation, why I was doing it and they developed trust in me," said Malzner.Malzner has a restaurant and also a shop in Hirschbach Im Muhlkreis, Oberosterreich, Austria. She also had many friends in the restaurant business. On her request, they agreed to donate amounts ranging from one Euro to five Euros per soup sold at theier establishments to Malzner."I also sold scarfs in Austria which I took from India. The margin I got was donated to for the cause. I also organised parties, including dance events and food festivals, and asked participants to contribute," Malzner said.She had first come to Jaipur in 2013 as a volunteer with an organisation to teach English to children in Katputli Nagar. "I came here in 2013 to do some community work for four weeks. It was not my aim to construct a building for such children. But, after spending four weeks in Kotpulti Nagar , I wanted to do more good work. So, I decided to work for these children," said Malzner said, dressed in an Indian saree."The child welfare committee (CWC) has inspected the house and given permission for shifting the children," said CWC member Nisha Pareek.The children are being taken care of by the NGO, Aashray Care Home. "Our organisation was registered in 2006. Since then, we had to shift from at least 15 homes. It was difficult for us to get homes on rent for HIV children," said, Sushila Mordiya , superintendent Aashray Care Home.

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