Holistic Care for 450 HIV Positive Thai Families

Waya (not her real name) is a 14-year-old girl, who was born in Bangkok. She was raised by her grandparents, because her parents did not want her. When she was very young, they literally dumped her and moved somewhere else. Since a couple weeks ago, Waya lives at our office. This is her story.

Before Waya moved into our office, she lived with her grandparents and an uncle in a small city near Bangkok. Her uncle was a violent man, who often beat up Waya. Her grandparents didn’t do much to protect Waya and neither did neighbors. The situation got so out of hand, that Waya did not feel safe at home and approached our staff. 

New house, new school
One of our main goals is to keep families together. We do not want to take children out of their houses. But in some cases, we have no choice. We decided to let Waya stay at our office, so that she has a safe place to stay. We have 2 staff who live at our office and after working hours, they looks after her. We also found a school for Waya where she can finish her studies. Last week, she started in the fourth year of high school and is very motivated to finish her studies. 

Love and protection
We are sad for Waya that her parents did not love her enough to raise her themselves. We feel sorry that Waya’s uncle regularly acted violently towards Waya. We wish she had a loving family, but she doesn’t. The most important thing we can do, is show her love and protect her. Letting her live at our office, is not an ideal situation. It is the best we have though. We have a bedroom and bathroom which she can use. We buy her food and look after her as best as we can. 

Better development
Did you know that over 80 percent of children in Thai orphanages, are not actually Orphans? Most of them still have parents, but they either cannot of do not want to raise their own children. We believe that having a safe place to stay, is one of the most important things for a child. We believe that staying with your family, is much better for a child’s development, than living in an orphanage. Study has shown that children in orphanages develop slower than children who live with their family. 

Thank you for making this possible
In Waya’s case, we are happy that we can be a family to her. We realize that we are not her real family, but since her real family is absent or not capable to look after her, we are happy that we can show her love and protect her. Thank you for your support and making it possible for us to look after children like Waya.