Essential Care &  Building HIV Awareness Project in Affected Communities with Monks and Nuns

Tean Thor works predominantly in rural areas around Battambang educating people on the risks of HIV, providing basic medical and spiritual support, and assisting orphans of those who have died from AIDS.

Objectives

	Increase community awareness in 30 villages for HIV/AIDS prevention
	Decrease discrimination in 30 villages against Persons Living with and Persons Affected by HIV / AIDS
	Ensure that at least 60 people living with AIDS and 100 children orphaned by AIDS are able to obtain their basic needs and care at the present time and for the future.

Description of Project Activities

Essential care visits to families of AIDS patients

The project will provide physical and spiritual assistance to 60 people living with AIDS, and counselling to their families.

This will be carried out by teams of monks and Tean Thor nursing staff. They will distribute basic non-prescription medicines and some food items, and the monks will talk to the families about compassion, non-discrimination, and Buddhist teachings about sickness and death.

Training and involvement of Monks and Nuns

Cambodia’s moral life is centred on the Buddhist religion. The large majority of the population have lost faith in the government since the Pol Pot regime massacred some 2 million Cambodians, and subsequent governments have proven too weak or too corrupt to secure the trust of ordinary people. Cambodians are turning in large numbers to Buddhist monks for their spiritual authority. In the area of HIV / AIDS, the pagodas are seen as the only trustworthy source of education, counselling, and care.

The project will train 250 monks to visit communities and families, bringing spiritual comfort and information about HIV / AIDS.

Monks previously trained in other wats will participate in four training sessions (one in each project district) on how to visit families of PLWAs.

Training of female care–givers

The project will train 100 nuns and HIV+ women volunteers in basic care of AIDS patients. They will then work as care-givers and assistants to the project. (Previous projects have already trained 100 such women, many of whom will serve as trainers for the new group.)

Education

The project will educate an average of 300 persons in each of 30 villages (or 9,000 people) about the risks and prevention of HIV / AIDS whilst increasing awareness of the possibility and methods of care for Persons Living with HIV / AIDS.

The focus will be on demonstrating to villagers the possibility of compassionate care by families and non-discriminatory treatment by community members. Note that the emphasis is primarily on community development, and secondarily on the actual physical care of the patients.

Care of AIDS orphans

The project will provide counselling and support for 100 children whose parents have died of AIDS.

Orphans will be placed with relatives and foster parents. In cases where these are very poor families, basic food, medicine, and school kits will be provide as deemed appropriate.

Work with traditional healers

The project will work closely with 4 traditional healers (kru khmer) to provide safe herbs and traditional medicines for the treatment of various symptoms.

These healers will administer herbal remedies for diarrhoea, pain, rashes, etc. It will be made clear that these remedies will not cure HIV / AIDS.

Income Generation

The project has recently been donated 10 sewing machines. These can be used by PLWAs to create an income through the production of clothing that will help support themselves and their families. An agreement has been reached to export the finished products to Thailand and should help ensure productivity and a reliable income for the near future.

The sewing machines were kindly donated by Mr. Dickon Very.

 

Funding partner

This project is funded for three years (2006-2009) by German charity Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst e.V. (EED) (Church Development Service – an association of the Protestant Churches in Germany).

EED funds 17 ongoing projects in Cambodia at 2.5 million Euros per year.

Support from Buddhist Authorities

Tean Thor has held extensive discussions with the monks of the following pagodas, who enthusiastically support and are actively involved in the project: Wat Roung, Wat Korko, Wat Por Pil Kher, Wat Roka, Wat Tras Pisey, Wat Trang, Wat Otaki, Wat Ek Phnom, Wat Kondeung, Wat Kor, Wat Kampong Seyma, Wat Khsach Poy, Wat Chloeu Tel, Wat Baydamram, Wat Svay Brokieb and Wat Banam.

In addition, support for the Project has been expressed by the Battambang Provincial Department of Religion as well as Battambang Chief Monk Loi Loeum, the Director of the local Buddhist centre for STDs.