Most families Siam-Care works with, are affected by HIV-Aids. Some of our families, have other struggles to deal with. Like the Naree family form Mukdahan, northeast Thailand.
Mother Aew (1987) had it all sorted out: she had a good job in the local hospital of Mukdahan and was happily married. But when she unexpectedly got pregnant, everything changed. During the regular check-ups, the doctors noticed something was wrong with Aew’s unborn child. 6 months later, she was born with serious physical issues: she will never be able to walk, talk, or take care of herself. When Aew’s husband found out about this news, he left his wife and newborn baby right away, never to contact the family again.
Not enough income
Anwiraseenee, who was born in 2017, who goes by the nickname ‘friendly’, is a 1-year old girl who is physically disabled. She lives with her mother (1987) and grandmother (1967) in Mukdahan, in the poor and dry northeast of Thailand. Mother had to quit her job, as she needs to take fulltime care of her handicapped daughter. The only income the family has, is through Aew’s mother, so Friendly’s grandmother. She sells Thai desserts, which are made by mother when Friendly sleeps, but her income is not steady. During the rainy season, she hardly has any customers. The family struggles hard to make ends meet.
Father abandons daughter
Friendly’s father has completely abandoned the family and doesn’t support his daughter and ex-wife financially. Unfortunately, this is a common situation in Thailand. When Siam-Care was introduced to this family, we accepted them into our program right away, even though no one in this family is HIV-infected. If we will not support this family and look after them, then who will? In Thailand families like Aew don’t get much support from the government, expect for a little bit of financial support, around 500 Thai Baht per month.
Simple but steady house
Friendly and her mother and grandmother live in a house made out of cement and wood. Upstairs is the main living area, but mother and Friendly stay downstairs, as it would be difficult and perhaps dangerous to carry Friendly up and down the whole time. Friendly has been disabled since her birth and will grow and develop much slower than other children. Siam-Care cannot heal Friendly, if only it was that simple. What we can do, is support the family in their basic needs. We buy them clothes, food and other materials they need in taking care of Friendly.Unlike other families, this family will probably always be needed support, as the physical situation of Friendly cannot change.
