Some thoughts and experiences to share with fellow network partners

[Guest guest]

Dear fellow network members,

I have been a member of this network for some time now and have been

reading with interest the various discussions and letters and articles

that have been posted . My interest in HIV/AIDS prevention started way

back in 1992/1993 -while I was working in India, supervising projects in

my Zone especially in Bellary, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune with specific AIDS

prevention objectives and others that also built awareness programming

into their activities. That interest and involvement has continued and

remained with me while I was in Cambodia and even now while I am working

here in China. I have had the privilege of interacting with some of you

since then, but being part of the network gives me a feeling of being

closer to home in India.

I have just recently returned from facilitating a Regional workshop on

care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS for Project staff from

Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos PDR, China and Bangladesh. The

rate at which HIV/AIDS is spreading in some of these countries is very

alarming. At the same time, the issue of concern is also that some

countries have tried to play down-or fail to recognize-the seriousness of

the risk they face, and thus put themselves in even more danger.

Sometimes, they seek solace in the'ófficial figures'- which seem very low,

and think they can wait. Oh that we could find a way to wake them up to

see reality.

While in Chiangrai, we had the chance to visit some of the badly affected

villages where World Vision has projects and were able to interact with

the community. In Norther Thailand, where government and NGOs are active

the attitude to PLWHA has considerably changed. Positive people are not

afraid or ashamed to share their status, and community care and support

are active. We met with one such active group which called itself by a

name in Thai which when translated means 'THE CLEAR SKY AFTER THE RAIN

STORM'....a very meaningful name to describe what a Person who is Positive

goes through. The slide here shows this in a picture....but the

interesting thing they talked about was of the post trauma recovery which

they called'' jeevathami Khon Kha' in Thai, which means- 'worthy

life'...they talked about the value of 'Quality 'rather than 'quantiy'of

life.

That type of care and support from the community is only possible when

prejudice and judgmental attitudes are sufficiently done away with. In

Northern Thailand the greatest risk is the large-scale migration of the

population.....but it is so essential for their survival that they see no

other option. The irony ofcourse is that the very ones that encourage them

to migrate and are happy to receive their money -their parents- are the

last ones to show acceptance when they discover they are positive.....

Thailand has gone a long way in making progress with dealing

with AIDS, yet the journey ahead is still long....vivid images remain of

mothers sharing how things have changed with the way community members

view them, though there still is some discrimination -no longer of

rejection...but of non- acceptance/ a grand father sharing how he was

waiting for settling down to a life of comfort- only to be awakened to the

fact that now he had to look after his grandchildren as his children were

dead because of AIDS

But the most vivid picture was when a recently married couple shared about

their life-He was 45and positive she was 30 and positive ,he had just lost his

wife and his month old son to AIDS, she had just recovered from the trauma of

discovering her positive status, both were active in the PLWHA group, she was

heartbroken seeing him lose his family....and they fell in love and are now

married...and are a tremendous encouragement to the other PLWHA. I was sharing

with the

participants about participatory tools that can be used to collect

sensitive information related to AIDS on care and support needs, and

during one of the gender disaggregation exercises, I asked who would be

preferred for access to ARV treatment if only one of the two-husband or

wife could get it...the couple I mentioned above were in this group...and

the man immediately spoke out, his voice full of emotion, 'HE WOULD GIVE

IT TO HER' ....I looked up and saw both their eyes fill with tears.

....actually the point in my writing all this is to share how encouraging

it is too see the changes taking place related to HIV/AIDS. In the early

days it seemed like we were fighting a losing battle in changing

attitudes....those battles still rage on...but now at least there are some

encouraging results....some countries are still making the same mistakes

that others did...but some are waking up and learning from others

mistakes...you are doing a great job and must be encouraged. ....keep up

your efforts and you will impact the lives of many people.

Finally, if you read so far, I hope you did, I will be happy to share with

you a Matrix which I developed and am using for sensitizing policy and

decision makers called the PRSG. If you ask for this and send me your

e-mail address I will send it to you with instructions on how to view this

power point presentation.

With best regards

Ravi Jayakaran

Ministry Facilitator

World Vision International-China. PRC

E-MAIL ravi_jayakaran@...

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[Guest guest]

[This message is in response to Ravi Jayakaran is posting on " Some thoughts and

experiences to share with fellow network partners " . Moderator]

Ravi,

It is Geoffrey here presently in Melbourne but coming to Chennai and

probably spending time in India from a very intense 12 years in the PLWHA

care and support activity in , Australia.

I was spending time trying to sleep as my mind was racing around the

statistics in Asia and the Pacific and wondering who else was out there and

what part in this exciting plan was going to be shown to me. I had a vision

of visiting all the cities in India and then Jakata, Malaysia, Singapore and

Manilla and I have a friend in Bangkok who is pleading for me to go there as

well. Now I hear of your efforts and I just wanted to say that perhaps this

e-group is also part of that vision too. So we can know and support each

other and also to stimulate and allow for some de-briefing which is all too

seldomly available to those who care. I am interested in your Powerpoint

presentation and I will need to get the software installed on my laptop

before I get to travel to India because it is so much easier to share

stories in a well prepared powerpoint presentation.

I would encourage you to keep sharing the news both positive and also the

negative times so we can provide support to each other. I believe I will

have a steep learning curve because I am not speaking or reading any

language other than english, but I am very keen to learn more.

I suppose all of us can remember poignant stories of faith hope and love in

our journey with HIV-AIDS but the telling and re-telling of these stories

can be quite cathartic, both for the teller and for the listener. Thanks for

sharing. I will look forward to hearing more.

Geoff Heaviside

Brimbank Community Initiatives Inc

Sponsoring Sunshine Budget Advisory Service

5 Brisbane Street

P.O. Box 606 Sunshine 3020

Ph: 0418 328 278

Ph/Fax : (03) 9311 5052

E-mail: gheaviside@...>

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" Knowledge without justice ought to be called cunning rather than wisdom "

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