In central China's Henan Province, one of the regions worst affected by AIDS, many children in the countryside are struggling to deal with the nightmare of life without one or both parents.
Although the children of parents whose lives ha
ve been claimed by AIDS may themselves be healthy, many face a bleak future colored by stigma, ignorance and the lack of basic opportunities taken for granted by most of us.
Wang Chongrun is the founder and director of Care for the Next Generation Association. Over recent years the association has been providing assistance to AIDS orphans in Zhenping, a county in Henan with a high incidence of AIDS cases. Their work covers financial aid, medical care, regular visits to AIDS-affected families, and vocational skills training.
Having worked as a physician in the countryside of Henan for two decades, Wang Chongrun says these AIDS orphans need comprehensive support.
"Most AIDS-affected families lead a rough life because of the loss of major bread-winners.
Some children can't go to school and have to do a lot of work at home. I remember when I first visited them in 2000, those children were timid, sensitive and had low self-esteem. I was shaken by their plight, and also deeply worried about their future, as they suffered not only from poverty and the loss of parents, but also from prejudice among other villagers, due to the social stigma surrounding AIDS."
In 2001, Wang Chongrun decided to put aside his career and devote himself to helping AIDS orphans in his home village of Zhenping County in Henan.
Since then, Care for the Next Generation Association has established several care centers in counties and villages in Henan, to look after AIDS orphans.
Each center provides basic facilities, books, and computers funded by public donation, and serves as a gathering place for those children to meet, study and participate in various activities.
Each year, the association also organizes volunteers go to the countryside to visit AIDS orphans.
Volunteer workers deliver food, school supplies, and clothes to those kids, and spend holidays such as the Spring Festival or the Chinese Lunar New Year with them. On the eve of the Spring Festival, they sing, dance, play games, and have dinner together.
Wang Ye used to be a volunteer with Care for the Next Generation Association.
As a university student studying social work, Wang Ye says he was touched by the innocence and loveliness of those children.
"After spending some time with them, I found they are just like any other children in the world - they are curious about new things, they asked us a lot of questions, and they hold expectations about the future. Most importantly, I realized what they needed most was love and care. And they were just so afraid of ignorance, coldness and prejudice."
Having now graduated from university, Wang Ye is working full-time at Care for the Next Generation Association. He is in charge of the recruitment and training of volunteers.
This year, to mark UN AIDS Day on December 1st, Care for the Next Generation has recruited more than one hundred volunteers from Beijing and Shanghai.
Wang Ye says the volunteers' contribution has a lot of potential for helping aids orphans.
"A network of volunteers has been set up under our association, including hundreds of university students, office workers, doctors, and teachers. This team combines resources
from many walks of life, and they can conduct their volunteer work according to their profession. Volunteers are sent to work in fields like counseling, translation, communication, medicine and so on. "
After years of development, Care for the Next Generation Association has advanced their scope from organizing voluntary work to helping AIDS orphans get back on their own feet.
Wang Chongrun says children need to be taught skills for sustainable living.
"We need to face the reality that many children are eager to work in order to earn money and support their family, so vocational education is very much needed. We try to find a way to combine the self-development of children and the reality of their situation."
He says short-term promotional campaigns must be followed up by sustainable activities.
That's why the association initiated a vocational training program for orphans in Zhenping County.
"Since 2005, we have carried out a project to teach AIDS orphans skills for survival and development, including jade carving, crystal carving, painting, and knitting. After one year of study, they have managed to make jade and crystal carvings and create beautiful artwork.
With these special skills they will not be so worried about finding a job in the future, and at the same time, doing artwork is also a comfort to them and helps heal their pain in a special way."
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|