Eva Johnson
I remember a decade ago, there was a lot of talk of AIDS
in Thailand. It was Armageddon and Doomsday and visions of an epidemic that
would threaten the world. That was ten years ago. Today there is very little
discussion about AIDS in Thailand.
I am going to visit the Bahn Pak Rak Puen Aids Home and
decide to check what happened. Why did the warnings, the debate on how to
raise awareness, the sense of emergency just sort of die out?
Meow keeps her spirit very high.
What I learn is that Thailand is one of the few
developing countries where public policy has been effective in preventing
the spread of HIV and AIDS. Various state sponsored programs have helped to
reduce the numbers of new HIV infections every year from 140,000 to 12,000
in less than ten years. Yet, an estimated 610,000 Thai people are living
with HIV today, which means almost 1% of the total population. Every year
around 30,000 die of AIDS. And, unlike in most other countries, the majority
of the infected are women, not men (ratio 7:5).
Sometimes statistics help.
Sure, the Thai authorities have done an incredible job -
although experts now warn that the lack of discussion that followed might
lead to a new wave of the epidemic - but 610,000 individuals, 440,000 women,
that is simply an awful lot of people living with HIV and AIDS.
“Women can stay as long as they want, until they get
healthier and can look after themselves.”
The Bahn Pak Rak Peun AIDS Home was set up in 2006 by
Meow, who was donated a house from the family of a Christian business man in
Pattaya, where she could help local HIV/AIDS patients with accommodation,
nutritious food, health care, rehabilitation and access to ARV
(antiretroviral) medicines and transport to hospital.
“Khun Meow herself is sick,” Alana Clarke tells me in the
car on the way there. “She is much better now, though. She used to be ever
so thin.”
Alana is the PILC contact for the home and she has been
kind enough to come with me. Her comment reminds me of another thing I read:
The ARV therapy that every infected person is offered free of charge in
Thailand (if they have the right identity documents) has prolonged the lives
of those living with HIV and delayed the virus from progressing to AIDS.
This has significantly reduced the number of people dying of AIDS. People
get sick, and then they get better again. Today one can live a long time
with HIV and AIDS. But what happens when you are ill?
The ladies are here, listening in on our conversation.
“Then you come here,” Meow smiles. She does smile a lot,
this tall, lovely lady with round spectacles, long chestnut hair and
colourful loose-fitting dress.
A big personality. Humour. Heaps of energy.
We are sitting in one of the two rooms of the house. This
one has three bunk beds and houses six. All the ladies, except two, are
here, listening in on our conversation.
“At the moment we are 7 ladies here, between ages 30 and
44,” continues Meow, “and one man, who works as my assistant. And one
child.” She points to the 6 year-old girl sitting on the floor. “Her father
passed away from AIDS, her mother is a drunk, so we let her stay here. We
give her food and shelter and support for school. Her name is Mai.”
Mai looks at us with big serious eyes, she knows we are
talking about her, but not why. Meow makes her come and sit with her.
“We can house up to 12 ladies, though,” she adds, “and
neither I nor our assistant is paid. We are paid from our hearts and by the
love of God. We are all Christians, you know.”
I ask how long a woman will stay at the home and Meow
tells me that 6 months to a year is normal, but that it can be longer,
depending on infection.
“They can stay as long as they want, until they get
healthier and can look after themselves. Then we help them to get jobs and
go back to society.”
At the moment there are two patients with Tuberculosis
(TB). They live in the second bedroom. TB has become an increasing problem
in Thailand with 60 new cases per 100,000 people every year. Approximately
7.6 % of the TB-patients are co-infected with HIV, which makes treatment
more difficult for both diseases.
“Here we provide for their basic needs and help them to
get medical treatment. These women are in too bad shape to manage on their
own and they can’t get that anywhere else,” says Meow.
I think I am getting the picture: Every Thai person with
HIV and AIDS has access to free medicines and medical care, but who will
look after them when they get too sick?
Meow agrees: “We save lives here. I only wish we could do
more, but how can we, when every month we are ten thousand baht short?”
Mai looks at us with big serious eyes.
The home receives regular donations from the Mercy
Centre, the Tamar Centre, The Life Centre Foundation, The Senior VP of Detac,
the PILC (3000 baht/month), as well as being part of the PILC funded Food
Drops.
“We would like to open an HIV/AIDS Centre where people
can come for information and help. And a second home in the central part of
Thailand. We have so many plans, so many ideas, but right now we can’t even
make ends meet here. Sometimes Christian people will donate a few hundred
baht here and there, but we can’t count on it,” she says and bounces to her
feet to see us out, a smile on her face again.
It is amazing how she manages to keep her spirit so high.
But then, as she says: “We are all part of the creation of God and we are
happy, so happy in our hearts to be living with that love.”
The Bahn Pak Rak Peun AIDS Home is looking for steady
sponsors. If you are interested call Alana Clarke, 084-141 6861.
“At the
moment we (have) 7 ladies here, between ages 30 and 44,” Meow says.
Meow
bounces to her feet to see us out, a smile on her face again.
