Holistic Care for 450 HIV Positive Thai Families

We mainly focus on HIV-infected families. But we do look after families with other issues as well. Such as the Bumrad family (an assumed name). This is their story. 

Nati is a 12-year-old girl who lives with her father (1975) and mother (1984) in Mukdahan, in the poor and dry northeast of Thailand. The family has always been poor but managed to get by. Until Nati's brother, who struggled with depression, shot his parents and completely disrupted their lives.

Both parents worked as farmers in the area. They certainly didn't make a lot of money, but the bills could be paid. Their now 18-year-old son struggled with depression and a gaming addiction. He lived a secluded life and one day something snapped in his head. He shot both his parents and seriously injured them. Father lost an arm and mother was struck in a nerve and is now paralyzed from the chest down. As a result, both of them can no longer work and do not receive nearly enough government support to survive. Their son is also not working, because he is now in prison. All parental care falls on 12-year-old Nati.

Quiet, smart girl
Only with the help of Siam-Care can Nati go to school. Unfortunately, her parents can no longer afford this. The family also desperately needs emotional care after this intense event. Nati is a quiet girl who is in the first year of high school. She would like to become a nurse when she grows up.

Big-C is an 8-year-old boy who lives with his grandfather Sakhon (1972), grandmother Sim (1970 and brothers Ice (2009) and Sprite (2012) in Mukdahan, in the poor and dry northeast of Thailand. Both parents of the boys are completely out of the picture and so the care falls to their old and partially disabled grandfather and grandmother.

When Big-C was 2 years old, his parents divorced and both disappeared overnight. Which meant that grandparents suddenly had to take care of their three grandsons. They both worked as farmers and were quite poor. This was exacerbated when grandmother broke her leg and had to have it amputated after an infection. This makes working an enormous challenge and only Grandpa now earns a small income. He grows rice and goes into the forest in search of edible products. The family lives in a simple hut, which was recently renovated with the help of Siam-Care. The roof was leaking and the walls had rotted and the family had no money to tackle this. They live secluded on a dusty piece of land, far from civilization.

Received bycicle from Siam-Care
Big-C and Ice are both a bit shy, Sprite is a bit more talkative. They can only go to school with the help of Siam-Care and have all received a bicycle from Siam-Care so that they can cycle to school together. They help out a lot around the house and don't yet know what they want to become when they grow up.

• PastedGraphic1.pdf (PDF)