| Project 2004 |
Project to Provide a
Home for Orphaned
Children with HIV/AIDS
At The
Camillian Social Centre Rayong
Year 2004 |
| Target Group |
| The Camillian Social Centre in Rayong cares for 35 orphaned
children living with HIV/AIDS and/or children that are
affected by the AIDS pandemic (parents are living with
HIV/AIDS). Thirty of the children are HIV positive while
five are non-positive children affected by AIDS. |
| PROJECT DESCRIPTION |
Background and Rationale
Situation
The Ministry of Public Health estimates that 1,200,000
people all across Thailand have been infected with HIV
since the first AIDS patient was reported in 1984. Among
them, 320,000 have died and 880,000 are currently living
with HIV and AIDS. Among those infected, 55,000 will develop
serious AIDS related complications requiring medical care
this year. Approximately the same number will die of AIDS.
It is also estimated that 29,000 new infections will occur
this year. Half of these are women who will get the virus
from their husbands or sex partners. Twenty-five percent
will be infected through drug use, 20 percent of the infected
will be sex workers and their clients, and five percent
will be children. |
| From 1984 to the end of 1999, HIV/AIDS
in Thailand spread through people with different high-risk
behaviours. During this initial period, the accrued number
of patients with AIDS was 131,396 of which 36,312 people
died of AIDS. The greatest rate of HIV/AIDS infection occurred
in people between 25 and 29 years of age. Young employees
and factory workers were the most vulnerable to be infected
by the virus. The main method of transmission during this
period was sexual relationships. |
| The present Thai society has seen an
ever-increasing number of people infected with AIDS. The
highest infection rate is found in intravenous drug users
and sex workers. Over half of the former and one third of
direct sex workers were found HIV positive in June 1997.
In some villages, all members of the village are infected
with the virus. Most of them are young people. This infection
has now completed an entire cycle and has entered into the
family environment. The infection rate among teenagers has
increased to seventeen percent. |
| Thailand is facing a huge increase
in the number of orphans. A UNAIDS report said that in 1995
there were 63,000 children that had lost their parents to
AIDS. In 2001 the number of AIDS orphans increased to 289,000
and it has predicted that there will be 380,000 AIDS orphans
by 2005. This figure may be much higher as some people in
Thailand are not included in the census but still form part
of the HIV/AIDS affected communities. |
| The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Thailand needs
to be fought on three fronts: prevention of infection, reduction
of HIV transmission from mother to child, and care of people
livng with HIV/AIDS. The government is not in a position
to initiate programs in any of these areas due to the financial
and economic crisis that has crippled the country since 1997.
Part of the solution is cooperation and assistance from the
private sector. |
| The children who are the victims of
this AIDS epidemic pose serious problems to the Thai society.
Some children infected with HIV became orphans when their
fathers and mothers died of AIDS. Some are orphans because
their relatives could not take care of the additional burden.
Others are orphans because their relatives were unable to
take care of them. Consequently, they have no one to take
care of them. They lack the love and warmth they would have
received from their natural families. They do not have an
opportunity to get an education. When these children grow
up, they will certainly become a burden and may even become
a critical problem to the society. |
| If they have nowhere to go, what will
they do? The Thai government does not have a clear policy
or action on this issue. The children cannot just walk into
an orphanage because they will be rejected when they are
found to be HIV positive. Non-Governmental Organizations
(NGO) taking care of orphans do not accept children with
HIV/AIDS because of a lack of knowledge with this specific
condition. The government and the NGOs prefer to rely on
a policy of letting the children with HIV/AIDS live with
their relatives. |
| |
| The Camillian Social Centre Rayong |
| The Camillian Social Centre in Rayong
(CSC) was founded to tackle some of the problems related
to HIV/AIDS. The CSC provides a home, gives assistance and
care to orphans and other children affected by HIV/AIDS.
The staff at the CSC considers the children who are infected
by HIV/AIDS to be valuable human resources of the country.
The CSC provides accommodation, meals and the basic medicines
necessary for the continued existence of orphans living with
HIV/AIDS and of the children that have been adversely affected
by HIV/AIDS. |
| The Camillian Social Centre (CSC) was
officially opened in January 1996. It is located in Rayong
province, in the eastern region of Thailand, where the rate
of HIV infection is the highest in the region and the third
highest in the country. It is dedicated to the care of people
living with HIV/AIDS who are poor, abandoned or rejected
by their families and communities. |
| Presently, the CSC cares for 87 (35
children & 52 adults) people living with HIV/AIDS. The
CSC organises prevention training for factory workers, employees
of small enterprises, sex workers, high school students and
members of the local communities. The CSC is the hub of a
network of persons with HIV/AIDS that are trained to cope
with the sickness and to help one another. There are fifteen
groups in seven eastern provinces associated with the network.
The CSC also operates a palliative care unit for people in
the final stages of HIV/AIDS infection. |
| |
| Experience in Caring for Orphans
with HIV |
| A Childcare Centre is set up to accommodate
and care for children whose parents have died of AIDS or
are living with HIV/AIDS at the CSC. The children of PLWHA
parents are accepted by the Centre in order to keep the family
together for as long as possible. This way, the CSC promotes
a family atmosphere, which is helpful for psychological well
being of the children. The front building of the Centre serves
as accommodation and classrooms for the orphans living with
HIV/AIDS. The first children living with HIV/AIDS arrived
at the CSC in May 1998. The Childcare Centre was officially
opened with a religious ceremony in November 1999. |
| The staff become intimately acquainted
with the children and attempt to provide what the children
need for their psychological well being. Special tutors and
caregivers provide literacy classes appropriate to the children’s
ages and conditions. These classes help the children to learn
to read and write, develop self-discipline and prepare them
to attend regular schools. This will enable the orphans who
are HIV positive and children affected by HIV/AIDS to live
as other healthy children. They will grow up to be capable
adults able to live with other people and become an asset
to the society. |
| The CSC Childcare Centre now cares
for 35 children. They are all from very poor families; some
were rejected and/or abandoned. Eight of the childen were
in the final stages of AIDS and have since died. The children
are now all given medicine, especially anti-retroviral medicine
to prolong their life. The anti-retroviral medicine is a
gift of life. The children are quite weak and it is difficult
for them to go to regular schools. They are provided with
literacy classes so that when they grow up they will be able
to read and write. These classes will also enable them to
get a formal educational qualification that can be used to
find jobs in the future. |
| |
| Objectives |
- To provide and promote a good family atmosphere for
the children.
- To develop the children’s psychological
and social well being.
- To provide children who are
powerless and unprotected with security in their lives.
- To enable orphans with HIV and children affected by
AIDS to live a normal life.
- To provide an education to
the children,and
- To develop the children as good human
resources for society and assets to the country.
|
| The following is a list of activities
in the CSC Childcare Centre: childcare, literacy classes,
tutoring, outings and excursions, and medical treatment. |
| |
| Childcare |
| Thirty of the thirty-five children
are HIV positive while five are children affected by AIDS. |
| - Objectives |
- To extend love and warmth to
the children.
- To provide the proper food necessary
for their ages.
- To enable the children to take
care of themselves and help others.
- To guide the children
to adulthood, and
- To enable the children to live
their lives as a member of the society.
|
| The CSC provides the children with
shelter and meals. Two caregivers are assigned to take
care of these children as nannies. One of them is also
HIV positive and so understands the pain that the children
must endure. At the Childcare Centre, the boys and girls
have seperate bedrooms and each is equipped with six beds.
In the morning, the nannies wake the children up, ensure
that they bathe and dress, and cook breakfast for them.
To promote a family atmosphere, the children have their
lunch and dinner in the CSC common dining room together
with the adults who are living with HIV/AIDS. The nannies
take care of the children again in the late afternoon from
the time the children finish their classes until they go
to bed. At night, they take care of any sick children;
as many of them are weak because of the virus. They also
take care of giving medicine that is prescribed by a part-time
nurse and medical doctors to the children. Once a week,
the nannies will conduct a check-up to monitor health conditions
of each child. |
| The children are assigned domestic
chores as part of their disciplinary formation. This is necessary
to help the children feel at home, become self-sufficient,
and develop a sense of responsibility, which will be beneficial
to them when they grow up. Domestic chores are also necessary
for the children to have physical exercise to keep them physically
strong to counter their sickness. |
| |
| Literacy Classes |
| Education is very essential in life.
Children affected with HIV have great difficulties getting
an education. The parents of HIV positive children dare not
take them to school. There may not even be a school that
will enrol them. Some children began their studies but had
to leave their schools when they developed AIDS symptoms.
Realising this need, the CSC provides literacy classes for
orphans with HIV. The CSC provides the teachers and organises
classes relevant to their health conditions and ages. We
have adopted a child-centred approach so that the children
will develop physically, mentally, intellectually and psychologically,
and be ready to join formal education system as they grow
up. |
| Although the children living here are
HIV positive, they are still members of the society. Therefore,
education is essential for their future life in society.
The CSC has been successful in getting children accepted
into the local Primary and Secondary schools. We continue
to upgrade the stduents’ levels of literacy and lobby
the local schools to accept them on an equal basis to non-infected
children. |
| - Objectives |
- To provide physical and intellectual development.
- To
prepare them for formal education in school system.
- To
provide the children with knowledge and capacity
for application in daily life,and
- To produce responsible
and productive adults.
|
| |
| Subjects and Time-Table |
| The kindergarten level Social Science
program includes classes in Thai and English languages, physical
exercise, mathematics, music, drawing, and catechism. These
classes begin at 9.30 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. Lunch break
is from 11.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.. Classes are provided from
Monday to Saturday. After lunch on weekdays, the children
take a short nap. The teachers spend this time preparing
teaching materials, or holding planning meetings on teaching
and caring. |
| Elementary education classes for the
children include courses in Thai and English language, Mathematics,
Computers, Science and Social Sciences. From Monday to Friday,
the children attend elementary classes from 9.00 a.m. to
4 p.m. with a lunch break at noon. In the afternoon, some
students attend non-formal education classes in local schools
from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. On Wednesday afternoon, when there
is no non-formal education classes, the students have classes
at the CSC childcare centre. Extra-curricular activities
are planned for Saturdays. The CSC teachers arrange appropriate
classes for the children in this age group that do not attend
non-formal education classes in local schools. Sunday is
a free day for both groups of children. |
| |
| Tutoring |
| The CSC has four children living at
the childcare centre who are quite strong. Although infected
by HIV, they have been accepted to attend classes in local
schools. As persons living with HIV/AIDS, they are more susceptible
to infection than other children so a tutor is made available
for the to help with their homework assignments. Tuition
is offered on an individual basis during the afternoon or
in the evening. |
| |
| Outings and Excursions |
| Children want to learn and they
are curious to learn everything. Children with HIV/AIDS
are physically weak and rejected by society. Staying within
the confines of the Centre will hinder their psychological
and social development. The CSC endeavors to take the children
out every week to visit parks, beaches, museums, shopping
centres, and other places of interest. As an example, the
teachers take the children to a supermarket and allow them
to help choose their food, personal items like toothbrushes,
candies, stationery, and so on. The children are also taken
to the beaches that are not far away from the Centre to
have fun. All of the activities are meant to broaden the
children’s view of the world, develop positive attitudes
towards life, and improve their physical, psychological
and intellectual well being. |
| |
| Medical Treatment |
| The children are living with HIV/AIDS,
so, many of them are physically weak and get sick very
often. They need medicines to help them recover as soon
as possible; otherwise their lives are gravelie at risk.
This is why the teachers and nannies have to be aware of
the health of the children and closely monitor them. The
nurse also helps take care of their health. When necessary,
they are taken to a local hospital for check-ups by medical
doctors. |
| Being HIV positive, the children
need regular blood tests for CD4 levels and viral load;
the results of these tests dictate their anti-retroviral
drug doses. These drugs are essential for the children
to prolong their lives. Without the regular medicinal doses,
it is most probable that they would develop AIDS symptoms
much faster and have a shorter life span. The CSC has been
successful in getting fourteen of the orphans into the
Government “Access to Care” system and we are
working to increase that number. It is hoped that our costs
for medicine will then decrease. |
| |
| Staff Development |
| The CSC has adopted an integrated
approach to the HIV/AIDS question that requires a spirit
of teamwork. The CSC personnel have regular opportunities
for personal development in which they share their experiences,
evaluate the overall work and monitor their performances.
The kind of work that we do requires understanding, motivation,
commitment and dedication. In addition, the work with the
children who are orphans living with HIV/AIDS and children
affected by HIV/AIDS requires specific skills and experience.
Most of the personnel in the CSC are people living with
HIV/AIDS. Two teachers are HIV positive and three teachers
are persons without HIV. A nanny is also HIV positive while
another has not checked her CD4 or viral load. |
| The CSC regularly organises sessions
for the teachers and nannies to help them reflect on their
life and their work. This reflection aims to reinforce
their motivation, commitment and dedication. Sessions are
regularly held to evaluate the work with the children,
their development and condition of their health. The sessions
also provide important updated information on HIV/AIDS. |
| |
| Volunteers |
| Volunteers regularly offer their time
to the CSC. Volunteers may be local people who come to the
Childcare Centre of the CSC regularly, one or two days a
week, but stay only for a few hours on each visit; or foreigners
who come for a short stay of a few months and help teach
the children every day. The volunteers help to ensure that
the children have their meals and take their medicine. They
may teach some subjects and/or accompany the children in
the activities held at the centre or in the neighbourhood.
They may also help take the children to local hospitals if
they are sick, need medical attention or when they have their
viral load checks. |
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