It’s a saddening site to see abandoned kids suffering from HIV. These children stay at the Centre for Education and social labour No 2 at Yen Bai, Ba Vi District, Hanoi.
They were abandoned as newborns and are infected with HIV.
The centre looks nice and has culture, studying, dining and sleeping rooms divided into areas by age.
As we stopped by the room for children under 2, it was hard to believe that they were suffering from HIV because they look so lovely and cute. Tham, a staff-member, pointed at a baby and told us, “That’s Tran Tu Quyen, 20 days old. She was abandoned when she was just born. She was adopted on January 11.”
The centre adopts many children suffering from HIV
According to Tham, there are 14 children under the age of 2 staying at the Centre. 9 of those were abandoned at the front gate. “That’s Bui Thuy Dung, 9 months, weighs 10 kg. When she was adopted by the centre six months ago, she suffered from malnutrition and weighed only 3.5kg.”
Another child, Ha Kieu Linh, 10 months old, weighted only 1.2kg when she was abandoned. Nobody thought that she could survive because she was so weak. Thanks to the intensive care from the staff here, which acts as adoptive mothers, she is now much better.
“They all are so adorable. Many can say “mom” but all suffer from HIV. I don’t know how their futures will be like. We are all in the same boat so I want to make it up to them,” said K, a staff.
It turns out adoptive mothers are also HIV patients.
Dung is no longer malnourished but will always suffer from HIV
The children and their caregivers are HIV infected
We also visited other rooms with names such as as Pigeon, Rabit, and Pumpkin ….It made us feel as if we were lost in a house of fairy tales. They were having lunch but when they saw us, they all stopped to say “hello”.
“Their daily meal cost VND30,000 ($1.6) each. We have 56 children ranging from new born to 13. We spend VND50 million ($2700) per month on their food and studies,” said Nguyen Thi Phuong, Manager of the Centre for Education and social labour No 2.
Enjoying lunch
Thanks to the intensive care and special nursing, many children here lead as normal a life as possible despite their disease. Le Thuy Uyen, born in 1994, is the oldest adopted child here while Nguyen Mai Phuong, born in 1999, has spent the longest time here, since April 3, 2002.
“I know that I have a disease but I don’t feel sad because I am always cared for and helped by my mothers here. I wish I could study well and go to work to help them,” said Phuong. “We have to take ARV medicine twice a day in order to hinder the HIV virus development,” he continued.
“What I like most here is that I can go to school and play with my friends. I also wish I could go to work and live on my own and help my mothers when I grow up,” said Pham Dinh Duc, 12.
Pham Huy Hoan, Editor in Chief of Dan Tri/DTiNews and representatives from Vinamilk Company donated them 100 boxes of milk for the occasion of Tet.