By Jacqueline Frost | Development and Communications Manager
Nepal Youth Foundation is accelerating plans to build a permanent residence for our New Life Center after the earthquakes weakened our rented structure this spring.
While the current residence is still habitable, residents no longer feel safe. We will build the new house on the site our Nutritional Rehabilitation Home in Kathmandu on property owned by NYF. The building will cost around $200,000 to build.
We had architectural plans drawn up before the devastating earthquakes struck Nepal in April and May and will move forward with construction after the monsoon ends this summer.
The newly constructed New Life Center will improve both access and quality to HIV/AIDS treatment and services in Nepal for years to come. 65 children received treatment and care at the center last year.
The New Life Center provides lifesaving treatment to children with HIV/AIDS while teaching their caretakers, most of whom also have HIV, to live hygienically and cook nutritious meals. This training dramatically reduces the risk of acquiring the illnesses that make HIV develop into AIDS, and allows infected people lead fulfilling lives. During the months that children and their guardians spend at the Center, they receive food, housing, and all medical treatment for free.
The New Life Center is the only facility in Nepal that uses a holistic approach to helping HIV-positive children. We offer psychological counseling services to help children and their guardians learn to live with the stigma of HIV/AIDS and improve their self-esteem. Further, nurses, nutritionist, doctor, and other staff provide: education and enriching activities for children, training in nutrition, health, literacy, and income generation for caregivers, as well as nutritious meals, 24-hour medical care, and counseling to improve their self-confidence and help them manage the stigma of HIV/AIDS for both.
This comprehensive care model is key to the Center’s success. Most children arrive with full-blown AIDS, including illnesses such as tuberculosis, malnutrition, and hepatitis, and return home with only HIV, ready to go to school and enjoy a happy childhood. If children with HIV live hygienically, eat a nutritious diet, and try to avoid infections, they can typically expect to lead full and meaningful lives for around 25 years. By that time, it’s likely that additional treatments will be available to extend their lives even further. Most of the children don’t even need to take anti-retroviral drugs, which are difficult for people in rural and remote areas to obtain.
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Namaste!
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