UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS

August 3, 2007

A family's struggle against HIV and AIDS

I met Tuk, a young woman in her late twenties, at one of the monthly self-help group meetings for people living with HIV and AIDS. She told me how she became a widow with two children because of AIDS. Only a year ago she lived happily with her husband and two children in a rented house in Pakse, the capital city of Champassak province located in the southern part of Lao PDR. The family was not well off but they helped each other to make ends meet. Before her marriage, Tuk worked as a housekeeper in a dam construction camp site. Her husband worked as a trader traveling from one place to another to sell goods. Everything seemed normal until AIDS struck them, nobody knows exactly how Tuk contracted HIV.  In the Lao PDR many young people return home HIV positive after working in Thailand. Although Tuk and her husband were not among those who migrated to Thailand to work, HIV still reached their small family. Only one family member – her eldest daughter was fortunate enough to escape infection.

After her husband died from AIDS, Tuk along with her 6 and 8 year old girls went to live with her mother and step-father on the outskirts of Pakse. Her mother sells flowers and banana leaf ornaments during Buddhist holy days celebrated in their village. Her step father is a fisherman. When he is lucky and gets a big catch, he sells the fish to buy rice. Life is hard. With five family members, of whom two are HIV positive, it is difficult for the parents to earn enough money to feed the whole family.

Every month, Tuk and her daughter have to travel to Savannakhet province to receive ARV medication. With UNICEF support for their travel expenses, Tuk and her daughter can take the 300 km trip to Savannakhet for treatment. In addition to her poor health, Tuk also suffers from memory losses. She finds it increasingly difficult to remember things in detail. The doctors think this may be due to HIV.
 
Every week, an HIV volunteer and health staff visit Tuk's family to follow up on their ARV medication. Tuk doesn't always take her ARV tablets because she often forgets and needs someone to remind her to take them.

UNICEF has supported two HIV volunteers and a health staff to visit the homes of affected families. The objective of the home visit is to provide adherence counseling and psychological support. The team also works closely with communities to promote compassion and support to people living with HIV and AIDS. In addition, the team participates in HIV and AIDS awareness campaigns and activities in the province. However, UNICEF has limited funds to support all these activities and increased efforts are needed to raise money so that more families like Tuk can have access to ARV treatment and home care.