Physical Health Thailand Project #8790

Holistic Care for 450 HIV Positive Thai Families

by Siam-Care Foundation

Project Report | May 9, 2022
Work Siam-Care grows to new province

By Jan-Peter Kelder | Leadership Siam-Care

We are happy to share with you, that we have extended our project in Mukdahan. From now on, we will also start reaching out to families in Nakhom Phanom, a neighboring province of Mukdahan. This is one of the driest and poorest provinces in Thailand, with a large group of people in need of immediate support. The province also has a high HIV-infection rate.

We were invited by the local government to come and do our work in Nakhom Phanom as well. Namely: looking after HIV-infected families and families in need and trying to keep children in school. The local government was impressed with our work in Mukdahan. And since the province doesn't have any NGO's present, they felt a big need for us to step in. Currently no one is offering any counseling or support to families in need. Leaving many people struggling to survive.

Escape from poverty
Before we kicked of our project in Nakhom Phanom, we have had several meetings with the local government, the local hospital and the local university (see pictures). Together with those bodies, we have selected families that are in need of immediate support. Our staff will start counseling these families and we will find a donor who can cover education-related costs. By helping children finish their education, we are offering them a chance to become self-relient in the future and escape from poverty.

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Jan 11, 2022
Naamphung is a go-getter!

By Jan-Peter Kelder | Jan-Peter Kelder

Naamphung is a 17 year old girl, who has been orphaned since a young age. She was raised by her grandmother, but when she recently passed away, Naamphung was suddenly alone. This is a story about perseverance and following dreams.

When Naamphung was only 7 years old, both her parents died of HIV. This obviously had a major impact on the still young girl. Her grandfather had also passed away just before this, leaving only her grandmother to take care of her. Grandma was 75 at the time and could no longer work. So the family lived in poverty, and there was not enough money to send Naamphung to school.

Help with school costs
Through the local government, Siam-Care learned about Naamphung's situation. We decided to include her in our education program because the family absolutely needed support. We got her school clothes, materials, and helped cover the travel expenses to school. This was possible thanks to a sponsor.

Grandma passes away too
We are now a few years further, and Naamphung's grandmother is no longer alive. Because Naamphung is now alone, that is an extra motivation for her to want to study. She wants nothing more than to take care of herself. She is currently in the second year of vocational school, in the field of tourism and hotels. Naamphung has to do an internship this year. However, this is quite a challenge as most hotels in the area are closed due to Corona.

Hotel very satisfied with Naamphung
In the end, thanks to Naamphung's perseverance, she managed to find an internship. The hotel where she is now doing an internship is very satisfied with her performance and has offered her a room and food so that she can live near the hotel. It is extremely important for Naamphung to follow her dream: to finish a study and take care of herself. Her self-esteem increases enormously. We are grateful that we can guide her in this.

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Sep 15, 2021
Left by husband, but keeps on fighting

By Jan-Peter Kelder | Resource development manager

We look after many families in need. This is one of their stories.

Baer is a 41-year-old mother of Pupe (2005) and Aek (2008). When she found out that she was HIV-infected, during the pregnancy of Aek, her husband left her and has never been in touch with his wife and children ever since. Due to her situation, Baer has been struggling with depressions.

People with an HIV-infection still face a big stigma in Thailand. They often get judged by their environment, and sometimes even banned from the lives of their friends and family. Baer’s husband also decided to leave, as soon as he heard that his wife was sick. Since then, Baer had to raise 2 children just by herself. In the meanwhile, she was using ARV-medication to fight the HIV-virus. She has also been talking antidepressants for a while now, as she the whole situation caused her to feel quite bad about herself.

Baer and partner not healthy

A few years back, mother Baer thankfully found a new partner. They both work as day laborers, which is quite a challenge. Finding work has always been hard, but due to Covid, many more people are unemployed and thus looking for work. As Baer is not strong physically, people often don’t want to hire her. Because Baer has been taking antidepressants for years now, her liver is being affected, and her muscles are weak. Bear’s partner is struggling from Neuropathy, a disease that weakens his nerves. So, finding work is a challenge for him as well.

Keeping children in school

You can imagine that this family is struggling to make ends meet. They indeed struggle hard to cover all costs. Siam-Care has been helping this family with counseling, but we also cover the school costs of the children. We hope that if both children finish their education, it will be easier for them to find work and look after themselves financially. Thanks to donors like you, this is possible. Thank you for making a difference!

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