Holistic Care for 450 HIV Positive Thai Families

She is waiting for us at the entrance of a sunny, light room. Her face shows a big smile when she sees her ‘family’ from Siam-Care again. Isra is a HIV-infected lady of 45 years old. She has been supported by Siam-Care for 25 years already. Yet this is the first time we visit them in a long time.

As usual in Thailand, we take off our shoes when we enter Isra’s house and find a place to sit on the floor. I cannot speak Thai, so I just observe my colleagues talk, sometimes they translate for me. I see how my colleagues do not stop laughting at Isra, because she keeps on making jokes, while she answers my colleagues’ questions. I see the proudness in Isra’s eyes when she shows pictures of her stepdaughter, who is about to graduate.

Proud and grief
I can also see the worries in her eyes when she tells about her son (11), who is very ambitious. So ambitious, that he sometimes forgets how their situation at home used to be. He even wants to be in an international school, where only wealthy students go to. I see how Isra is torn between proud and sadness, when she tells that her son is exactly like her. Always debating and asking questions.

Able to
Behind us are clothes racks full with laundry, in Isra’s one room apartment. Isra points at the many racks and tells about the improved circumstances of her family. “I earn a little income by doing laundry for other people. I can give my son eight times more pocket money than my daughter used to get when she was young. In the past my daughter had to walk to school, but now they can go by bus.” Isra and her family are doing a lot better than before.

What’s the point?
Why do I share this story with you? Isra and her family are not longer totally depending on Siam-Care. They are able to stand on their on feet and that’s exactly why we want to tell you this story. To show you what happends when Siam-Care starts taking care of a family. Together with Isra we found a way to make money and we counseled the family in multiple areas. Over the years, this family was enabled to be more and more independent. Because of your donations we were able to guide them and help them reach their goals. Other families are just at the start of this proces. Will you help us to help them as well?