HIV Awareness raising in prisons and communities

Siam-Care has been visiting prisoners for many years now. Especially in the hospital section of the Klong Prem prison in Bangkok we have counselled hundreds of inmates. In this update we would like to share how we use your donations to make a difference for people in a dark place.

2 times a month 3 of our staff members reach out to the prisoners in the hospital section of the notorious Klong Prem prison. The section where we conduct our program is only for HIV-infected prisoners. Most of them only found out in prison that they were infected, which means they have very little knowledge of HIV/Aids. Therefore we always use one of our 2 monthly sessions so teach about HIV/Aids; how do you prevent the infection from spreading, why is it important to take your medication, etc. Most prisoners don’t stay long in the hospital section, every session we meet new people. Hence it is important to keep on sharing the basics of HIV/Aids.

Life after prison
But today we didn’t come to educate the inmates. The second of the 2 monthly session, we use to counsil prisoners and talk about their situation. Today we have decided to talk about the future, about life after prison. This is a difficult subject, since some inmates will never experience freedom again. Some of them will die in prison, others have to serve a life sentence in prison. Thankfully most of the prisoners will be released at some point, sometimes in a few months, sometimes in a few years or even decades.

Prove they can do good
During our session we challenge the inmates to draw their future. What will it look like? Some prisoners draw a big house and a big car. Some draw themselves working and making a lot of money. But the vast majority draws themselves being reunited with their family. They all feel like they have let down their parents, partners and children. They feel guilty and want to make up for what they have done. As Siam-Care we believe that everybody deserves a second chance. Even murderers, thiefs and rapists. Will you enable us to let the inmates dream about a better future? A future in which they will change their behaviour and get a second chance? Thank you for your donations, which allow us to give hope to people who have messed up once, but are dying to show the world that they can do good as well.