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Hi every one. welcome to the television program for children on thursday 9.1.2014.
Dear distinguish audiences; we have just passed the Action Month for AIDS prevention and control, the December 2013. Children are the group who suffer most from this epidemic. Children infected and affected from ***/AIDS usually live in the poor families with less access to health care and education services due to being stigmatized and they are on the high risk of being abused. In order to protect the rights of this group of children as well as their development opportunities, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare has been implementing the Network model and comprehensive care for children infected and affected by ***/AIDS. To understand how this model supports children, please see our television report which has been filmed at Thai Nguyen Province.
Caring Services Network for children affected by ***/AIDS
Every day, Mrs. Tran Thi Nga has to take Morphine 5 times to confront the pain caused from the marrow tumor disease. Chu Quang Huy, the only son of Mrs. Nga gets use to giving injections for his mother every day for several years. Although he is less than 16 years old, his stately gait and maturity amazed us a lot. However, it was so sorry for us to know that these characteristics have been established from all the challenges that he has been encountering. It was full of long-lasting- sorrows in his childhood: at the age of 4 years old, he had to witness his father who was on the hunger of *** taking the family rice and chicken to sell for drug. In 2011, his father died of AIDS when he was 13 years old and at the same time his mother was diagnosed with marrow tumor and her body paralyzed.
“I am afraid that if I die, my son will suffer a lot. There is no one else in my family to support Huy, except his grandparents. They just go around and support him mentally, not anything else”- Chi Nga
Huy is one of 156 children affected by *** who joined the project “Network model and comprehensive care for children affected by ***” which has been conducted in two communes of Linh Son and Minh Lap- *** Hy District- Thai Nguyen province. The model has been operated since 2011 with the support from Catholic Relief Services. Since joining the model, community-based workers usually come to visit him at home to support him as much as they can. In 2013, he received a support of the bank book of 15 million Vietnamese *** (710 USD). He saved this amount of money to buy medicine for his mother. Going to school half of the day, the rest time of the day he stays at home to grow vegetable and raises chicken or to pick tender tea leaves. He collects enough money for rice every month.
In the empty house of the widow and the orphan who live on each other. There was only boiling vegetable for dinner. Huy said “No matter how challenged the situation is, he just wants his mother not to leave him”
“Normally, the staff come and give me presents; books, notebook, pen. I do not have to pay school fee. I just want my mom to be recovered, but this dream may never comes true”. (Huy to speak)
Up to now, 100% of children who join the model have been identified, listed and assessed with all their needs. Every month, the model community-based workers visit children to evaluate children status to connect children to needed services in time. The package of services include the psychological support, strengthen the health care services, education, foster care and social welfare and policy support. After more than three years of implementation of the project, the awareness on children care and protection of the community and related stakeholders changed positively. Through the thematic sessions, group work meetings with care givers and parent at community, people understand correctly about *** and remove the stigmatization. Children affected by *** become more confident and more integrated in to the community; they have been cared instead of being isolated.
I find the Network model to care for children helps the children at high risk of infecting *** to have change to reintegrate in to community; families are happier since they see that people pay more attention to their children
No of us can tell that this girl is infected by *** and she is very smart, socialized with all the friends. Moreover, she is very good at studying and she is loved and trusted by her classmates and was appointed to be the class monitor. This story could not been happened several years ago and it was the result of all the communication efforts in schools to stop discrimination. Up to now, 100% children affected by *** in the two communes Linh Son and Minh Lap- *** Hy District can go to school; no children cannot go to school or drop from school due to being stigmatized.
Teacher Vuong Thi Minh Ngoc – Primary School of Minh Lap “At the beginning, there was no understanding on *** therefore children affected by *** faced to many challenges while going to school. Now, children are much more friendly and closely to each other. The stigmatization and isolation is no more in our school”
Up to now, 100% children affected by *** in two communes can go to school; no children cannot go to school due to being stigmatized. Each of children affected by *** has their own destiny and situation, yet, most of them are from poor families. In order to overcome the immediate difficulties, in 2013, the Network Model has supported 20 malnutrition children with milk and supported other children with books and notebooks at the beginning of the school year. 17 children in Minh Lap commune has been connected to education welfare service to be exempted from paying school fee. A part from these supports, other relating stakeholders gave children affected by *** with presents in the occasional of holiday or annual ceremony.
Mr. Duong Duy Hung-Vice Director of Thai Nguyen DOLISA: “ The network model has been piloted in two communes of Linh Son and Minh Lap- *** Hy District and in 2013 we expanded the model in to three other communes in Phu Yen District. Our objective from now to 2020 is that we will expand the model in the whole province, 9/9 districts and city.
A part from Thai Nguyen, 7 other provinces has been joining the Network model including Hai Phong, Baria Vung Tau, Nam Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Yen Bai, Quang Nam and Phu Tho. In these eight provinces of the model, more than 3,800 children affected by *** have been identified; in which more than 3,600 children needed to be supported. The percentage of children receive at least one type of service from the model is 85%.
Snigdha: “In order to continue our program, CRS will continue to work with Ministry of Labor and Social Affair (MOLISA) to integrate the Network model to strengthen the access of children to services in the National Plan of Action for children affected by *** which has been piloted by CRS and MOLISA. Secondly, we will continue to support the NPA implementation after being approved by Prime Minister. Thirdly, we will expand the capacity building for the staff working for MOLISA at provincial and district level in twenty provinces on caring for children affected by ***. Fourthly, we will support the M & E system of the NPA.
Although achieving objective results, the Network model and holistic care for children affected by *** in community still faces to many challenges. Children affected by *** usually live in the poor families and their awareness on *** is still limited therefore they are hesitant to actively seek for supports. This is the biggest barrier for the work of identifying children affected by *** in communities. It needs to address these challenges to identify the sustainable supports so that we can fulfil the rights of children and make sure the equal opportunities for children affected by ***/AIDS.
In order to provide you more information about the needs to be protected and cared from children affected by ***/AIDS nationally and about the Network model and holistic care for children affected by *** which have been implementing in eight provinces, we have invited Dr. Vu Thi Kim Hoa, the Vice- Director of Children Protection and Care Division, MOLISA to the film studio.
Thank you very much to participate to our program today. Dear Madam, what are the most difficulties for children affected by ***/AIDS?
There are two main groups of children affected by ***. The first group is children infected by *** and the second group is the group on the high risk of infected with ***. The second group actually include many children such as orphans, abandonment children, children live with people who are *** (+), street children, orphans due to other reasons, children who use drug, *** abused children. The issue of accessing to services of these children, how to protect their full rights need to be concerned.
The model has been implementing in 8 provinces, so during the process of implementation, what are the advantages and disadvantages of the model?
A network of services in community to support these children has been established at province, district and commune levels. The network of community-based workers who have been full trained with children case management, children need assessment and how to refer children to the needed services also has been established. In some of the provinces, there is some limited such as not fully identifying the lists of children, fully needs assessed and connected to needed stakeholders. Second issue is the knowledge of the community-based workers. Although we have been conducting quite a number of training programs, the areas of needs assessment and accessing services are new issues. While conducting the needs assessment in community, community-based workers still get confused.
So what do we have to address these above mentioned disadvantages?
We will continue to provide training for the current group of community-based workers and strengthen the communication in community. Once the families know what services are available and what are the benefits children would receive when they access these services then the families would be active in reaching our community-based workers.
Once again thank you very much for our discussion today!
Yes, children infected and affected by *** have right to hope for a bright future. They deserve to be recognized and treated equally and provided with opportunities to be full developed. We will close our program this week by the pictures drawn by the children affected by ***. Each piece of the color is their hope of future without any stigmatization and full of love. Goodbye and hope to meet you again on 4.15 PM next Thursday!