Confronting a Killer
Approximately one million in Thailand have HIV/AIDS. It is most prevalent in the north where education and awareness of the problem is minimal. AIDS is the principal cause of death in the Chiang Dao District. There the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is implementing an HIV/AIDS Awareness and Drug Education project.*
ADRA is using activities such as drama, poster competitions and personal testimonies to provide information about HIV/AIDS and drug prevention strategies within the district, starting with school student groups of all ages, to their families, their villages and eventually their entire communities.
A common form of infection is via young people coerced or sold into the county’s sex industry by their poor parents or “employers” posing as restaurant or factory managers.
Somsee (pictured) is a young Burmese woman who was married to a Thai man. Together they had a baby girl and lived happily in their village. When her husband fell ill, they found out he had contracted AIDS. He’d carried the HIV virus for some time. Somsee was tested and, not surprisingly, diagnosed HIV positive. Now, four years after his death, Somsee is developing symptoms of AIDS. She knows she’ll die. She also knows she should have her five-year-old daughter tested, for the transfer rate of HIV from mother to child is high.
Drug use is also on the rise in this district, particularly amphetamines and heroin. These illegal drugs are tearing at the fabric of life that traditionally holds the society together. This problem hinders community development, affecting the social, economic and health aspects.
“In addition to increasing awareness of HIV/AIDS, it’s also important that we decrease the stigmatisation of HIV/AIDS by providing social and financial support for those who are already affected,” states Greg Young, ADRA director in Thailand.
In response to this, ADRA has partnered with the Chiang Dao District Hospital to assist a club called People With HIV/AIDS (PWHA), where physical, emotional and financial support is offered to members, promoting relationships with the general community and support networks among members. Through the club, income-generation activities such as growing and marketing vegetables and mushrooms on the grounds of the hospital are conducted. The profits from the mushrooms and vegetables are used to support the PWHA club and for medication and supplies for those who are too sick to continue working.
PWHA members also volunteer in the local community, offering counselling services to those undergoing HIV/AIDS testing at the hospital and creating more impact with ADRA’s school and village programs. Involving PWHA in this way helps to create an effective awareness of the PWHA club in the community, naturally diminishing the once high level of stigmatisation.
The Japanese government, through ADRA’s office in Japan, is funding this project, which finished earlier in 2003. ADRA–Thailand is currently seeking funding from private donors to enable this project to continue.
* Additional information about ADRA–Thailand can be found on its web site at www.adra.or.th
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