January 19, 1999
WE CARE Bringing it home Non-governmental organisation coordinates rural communities in the North to provide local support for those affected by HIV/Aids Atiya Achakulwisut Phra Khru Samuwichian Khunadhammo. 'A lot of people infected with HIV come to me with their problems ... I think, therefore, I should do something to help them.' "I was under tremendous pressure." Oy, a Chiang Mai native in her early twenties, looked up from her tightly clasped hands. Painful memories poured out like a torrent. Oy contracted HIV, the virus that causes Aids, from her husband. Ever since, she has felt alone in this world. "People in the village would not talk to me. There were strange looks from a distance and whispering behind my back. No-one would visit my house. I couldn't drink from a communal containers. They wouldn't even let me pick wild vegetables. My touch would make the plants die, they said." What Oy has faced is actually a mild form of prejudice. Sawang, another HIV-positive patient, said some villagers called him plia dam or black plague. Khem, a middle-aged housewife with HIV, said her neighbours suggested she kill herself to escape the disease. Although Aids has been around for years, public ignorance - that the disease can spread by touch or sharing eating utensils - and the stigma persist. At present, it is estimated that between 800,000 and one million Thais have HIV: about half of them live in the six northern provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phayao, Lamphun, Lampang and Mae Hong Son. Northern hospitals are ill-equipped to care for the massive number of Aids-related patients. In many cases, HIV-positive people are poor farmers living in rural areas who can't afford medical services, anyway. "We believe one solution to the Aids problem is for the communities to absorb them back," said Pasakorn Intoo-Marn, a staff member of the Community Aids Care Project (CACP). "People with HIV/Aids should be able to exercise their potential and live alongside other people." The CACP is an affiliate of NorthNet, a network of rural community development organisations based in the upper northern region. It is currently working on the establishment of a community-based Aids care organisation in Chiang Mai called the Tambon Aids Care Council. Six-year-old Em with his 71-year-old grandmother, Mrs Khammoon. Without a scholarship, like those provided by the NorthNet Foundation, the youngster has no chance of going to school. "Formerly, infected people would not seek health care until they were in the terminal stages," noted Nikorn Chiangkham, a health care volunteer in the Mae Faek Mai sub-district of Chiang Mai. "With the Tambon Aids Care Council, more HIV-positive people are willing to come forward. The public in general also know more about Aids and accept people with HIV better." The council consists of representatives from almost every group in the village, be they a district chief, teacher, village headman, health care officer or volunteer, housewife or monk. The council organises informal meetings for infected people to exchange their experience and provides training and income-generating activities for those who cannot find work. Oy said she felt such relief when she joined one meeting. "I learned how to make artificial flowers. You know, it is so good to be able to talk to people other than my own mother and siblings," she said. She is also a member of a consultative group of people with HIV/Aids in Chiang Mai called the Candle of Life group. "The meetings are good," agreed Somsak, who tested HIV-positive last year. "They stop me from thinking about this and that. I also had a chance to make candles and earn 600 or 700 baht. What is more important, however, is I found friends. It was so disheartening to feel all alone." The meeting lends tremendous mental support to these people, Mr Pasakorn said. One new member of the group told him she had not smiled for the two years since her husband died of Aids. At the meeting, she could smile again. The clergy has also come up with a creative idea to help people with HIV/Aids. Phra Khru Samuwichian Khunadhammo, the abbot of Wat Jedi Mae Krua in the same tambon, donated the temple's many wreaths and sangkhathan - a kind of alms, consisting of various household items in a bucket - for HIV-positive people to sell. The profit is used to assist those who fall sick. "A lot of people infected with HIV come to me with their problems. Many of them are jobless. I think, therefore, I should do something to help them," Phra Khru Samuwichian said. The wreaths and items in the sangkhathan are put on sale at lower than market prices at a co-op inside the temple's grounds. People who take care of the co-op earn a daily wage of 100 baht a day. The abbot has asked for unused sangkhathan from other temples in the province to add to the co-op's stock. During the Loy Krathong festival last year he let people with HIV sell the floating candles they made at the temple, too. Along with the community-based Aids care activities, NorthNet is also promoting holistic health care. One activity is a revival of the role of traditional medicine men. "Medicine men, with their vast knowledge of herbal medicine, have the potential to take care of Aids patients," said Wiroj Kantasook, coordinator of the project's holistic health section. "We all know the hospitals do not have enough personnel and facilities to take care of them. "We are not endorsing all patients turn to herbs ... and we are not saying they can cure Aids. We are just trying to develop some alternatives." Mr Wiroj added that some herbal medications can relieve certain symptoms of the disease. If the medication is locally available, then patients will not have to spend too much time searching for it. Another project of NorthNet is coordinating the Aids Orphans Fund. It is increasingly clear, as Aids continues to wreak havoc in rural communities, that children are the most helpless victims. Many are left alone or with elderly grandparents after their parents pass away. Quite a few orphanages have been set up to solve the problem. NorthNet, however, believes it is best for children affected with HIV/Aids to continue living with their families and communities. Seven-year-old Tom and his 67-year-old grandmother, Mrs Tip. Tom is one of the luckier Aids orphans; an uncle is capable of looking after him The Aids Orphans Fund, which gives grants to northern children affected by Aids, was established to assist these children and their care-takers. "In most cases, children stay with their grandparents, who are either too old to work or do not earn enough to provide for the children. The grants might not solve all the problems, but it is at least something they can fall back on," Mr Pasakorn said. So far, the fund has given 6,000-baht-per-year grants to 50 children. In the future, it will ask community Aids care committees to contribute partly to the fund and to handle all the grants. NorthNet will step aside as coordinator. "Aids orphans are normally prone to depression. Many of them feel the stigma and discrimination their parents faced. We would like to help these children lead a life that is as ordinary as possible. Otherwise, they may drift into drugs or prostitution and the Aids cycle will be repeated all over again," Mr Pasakorn concluded. Keeping kids in the community Dear Child: During your life, I have not been able to give you anything because I am dying. I do want you to be a good child, though. Don't be stubborn and naughty. You must go to school so you have knowledge and do not know a difficult life like your mother's. Do you know, child, I worry about you more than anything else and I love you as much as I love my own life? I will not have an opportunity to take care of you until you are old enough to take care of yourself, but you should always know "your mother will love you throughout time." From your mother, Niam (Niam passed away on May 11, 1996) Seven-year-old Tom loves going to school. He has a lot of friends and likes to draw. One day, he came home, crestfallen. There was gossip at school that he was not really "one of them," that his father had died of a "terrible rash" disease. "I cried and cried, telling them Tom is all right," said his 67-year-old grandmother, Mrs Tip. Tom's parents died of Aids-related diseases. The youngster, who did not contract the disease, now lives with his grandmother. He is luckier than most though, his uncle adopted him and cares for him and his education. Em, who is six years old, is not so lucky. The boy's mother was infected with HIV and ran away when he was three months old. His father died soon after leaving Em with his grandmother, Khammoon. "I am old. I can't work too hard," Mrs Khammoon, 71, said. The old woman collects wild vegetables for sale. It does not bring in much money. Mrs Khammoon's daughter, Em's aunt, sometimes helps them out financially. She does not have a lot of cash to spare though, Mrs Khammoon said. "In future, I think I will have to ask for a scholarship from the school to help pay for Em's education - uniform, books, tuition and everything. I won't be able to find that much money for him," Mrs Khammoon said. The pattern of grandparents caring for small children is becoming more and more prevalent in the North, where the number of Aids-related deaths is highest. According to Pasakorn Intoo-Marn, a coordinator with the Community Aids Care Project's programme for children affected by Aids, discrimination against youngsters whose parents have HIV/Aids can be even more hostile than contact between adults. There have been cases of schools rejecting children whose parents are infected with HIV. "One of the reasons is, adults have some idea about how to deal with people with HIV/Aids, but they don't know that much about kids. Some parents ask 'what if children bite each other or get cut while playing?' " In Mr Pasakorn's opinion, these concerns miss the point. "In the case of biting, I think we have to look into why kids do that in the first place. Will closer supervision solve the problem?" he asked. "I don't think it is healthy to separate Aids orphans from other children. Separating signifies there is a problem with them. The children will definitely feel alienated and isolated. They will question why they can't join other people in society." Staying with their relatives and communities will better help children to lead a normal life and to contribute to society in the future, Mr Pasakorn said. Infomation for Donations: Name of Organisation: Community Aids Care Project, NorthNet Foundation Address: NorthNet Foundation 225/112 Sintana Village, Moo 2, Tambon Sanpranate, Amphoe San Sai, Chiang Mai 50210 Contact person: Ms Siriphan Garagate or Mr Pasakorn Intoo-Marn Tel: (053) 380-566		Bangkok Post FESPIC Games Web pages Classifieds Jobs Property Entertainment Investment Education Travel Sales Learn English Weekly Database Horizons Motoring NiteOwl Real Time Student Weekly Special We Care Street Art Back Issues Last Month Archive Company Servcies Subscriptions Advertising Annual Report
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