Hong, age 8
VNHIP first met Hong in 2009 when she was a very small and underdeveloped 3 year old. The family was referred to us by the HIV clinic in Tam Ky. Her mother was very sick with TB; an opportunistic infection common in HIV patients and the family was struggling to make ends meet. Like many others with HIV, her mother wasn’t aware she had the virus until she became sick, and had unknowingly passed it on to her daughter.
Hong is now 8 years old, a happy child, who is symptom free and responding well to treatment. She lives with her father, older brother and grandmother in Da Nang in Central Vietnam. Sadly, her mother died in 2012. Her father is a stonemason, a good job here, but his earning capacity has been limited by years of caring for Hong’s sick mother and his own ill health. He is also HIV positive. It is not unusual for a family to keep their HIV status a secret. Hong’s father recently had a shingles infection on his face; the neighbors became concerned and forced them to move. The infection has gone now, but the physical and mental scars remain. To avoid attracting unwanted attention, Hong travels 2 hours (80km) by motorbike with her father once a month to receive ARV treatment at the HIV clinic in Tam Ky. The Da Nang hospital for children is near their home, so she could be treated there, but they can’t afford the risk of being seen and losing their home again. “My life is very difficult and poor”, says Hong, “but I am happy, because we love each other. I enjoy school and I am a good student. I love Maths and Vietnamese Literature, and want to be a teacher when I grow up.” Like their neighbors, Hong’s school isn’t aware of her HIV status, but she has been well trained by the clinic and her father to manage her condition and minimize the risks of infecting others. Hong’s father is taking classes to become an "expert client". When he finishes his training he will work at the clinic and promote HIV counseling, testing and treatment compliance to other patients. This approach has been very successful in improving retention in care, as well as increased uptake of related health care services. By sponsoring Hong you can help us give her a better healthier life and a brighter future by:
NOTE: VNHIP uses PayPal to process recurring donations. Please enter the name and age of the child/children you wish to sponsor under 'Add special instructions to seller' when you review your order.
|