UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS

October 8, 2007

Stranger in the Village

Last month in Vientiane, I was facilitating a self-help group meeting for people living with HIV and AIDS when I came across Kham who told me the story of her life.

Kham is a 34-year old widow who lives on the outskirts of Vientiane Capital. She joined the self-help group about 10 months ago.

After completing high school at 20 years of age, Kham married a divorced man. Like other young couples, she dreamed of having a warm family that included a daughter and a son. Unfortunately, her dream turned into a nightmare. A couple of months after the wedding, Kham's husband became seriously ill. The young wife cared for her husband until his last breath. Just one year after they were married, Kham's husband died of AIDS.

Kham went back to her village to live with her parents. She got a job as a caddie and worked in a golf course near-by. She continued to live and work in her community for nearly 10 years. Then Kham started to have AIDS-related symptoms. She had to leave her job due to her frequent illness. After that her life changed dramatically. People in her village started to notice lesions on her body and associated these with AIDS.

Kham was treated like an alien in her own community. She could not sit close to her friends or neighbors because they moved away when she came near. People would stare and gossip behind her back. The community did not even want to eat the food prepared or served by Kham. The only support that she had was from Venerable Xavansay, a temple abbot from a neighbouring village. When she felt depressed she would go to listen to Venerable Xavansay preach on Buddhist teachings. The monk was the only person who listened and treated her like an ordinary villager. It was later that Kham went for treatment at the hospital and found out about a UNICEF-supported self-help group for people living with HIV. Her life then changed again, this time for the better. Not only did she have the drugs to treat her illness, but friends to raise her spirits.

Looking back, Kham told me that she feels very grateful to Venerable Xavansay and the self-help group. Venerable Xavansay gave her the hope and courage to overcome stigma, while the support from the self-help group gave her a new lease on life. By joining the group she was able to shed her isolation, share her experiences and learn from other members how to live with HIV. 

Kham was trained by the UNICEF supported Metta Dhamma project to conduct outreach mobilization on HIV and AIDS. She was able to mobilize her own and other communities to reduce stigmatization. Now Kham's village understands lot more about HIV transmission and how it can affect people like themselves.

Through the self-help group, Kham earns a living by sewing handbags, quilts and small souvenirs. She has demonstrated to everyone that people living with HIV can work productively and are willing to join in the fight against HIV and AIDS. I am glad to hear that her life is gradually returning to normal. Finally, she is accepted by her community.