Nongovernment Organizations and Civil Society

A Teenager's Dream: A Welcoming Environment for People Living with HIV/AIDS

Buriram Village, Thailand - Wake up, have breakfast, go to school, go back home after school, do homework, have dinner and go to bed…This is more or less the daily routine for most Thai students. Miew is no exception. The 15-year-old girl is determined that one day she will be a successful doctor. She puts all her energy and effort into studying, getting straight A's in school. Her friends look up to her as a class leader. Yet this outstanding student felt there was something more she wanted to do.

"I really had a great time in the training conducted by the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Foundation," says Miew of her experience as an anti-HIV/AIDS advocate in Buriram province, northeastern Thailand. "I thought it would be boring but it was surprisingly very interesting and it was a lot of fun," she recalls.

There are people living with HIV/AIDS in Miew's community. She has never been scared of them but, before her training, she couldn't help feeling that being too close to them could give her HIV/AIDS.

"Now that I am educated with HIV/AIDS knowledge, I understand that I cannot get HIV/AIDS from them by interacting with them. I feel sorry for people in the community who still have the fear like I used to have," she says. Since then she has been trying to talk to other people in the community, to try to let them know the facts about HIV/AIDS and that "we can live with people living with HIV/AIDS."

Some people believe her, some do not. But she does not want to stop trying. "I feel I have found what I really want to do-to help others and help create a welcoming environment for people living with HIV/AIDS," she explains.

Miew and her friends volunteer as a group to promote HIV/AIDS education. They host radio programs in schools and actively participate in FXB activities, including Trainings for Youth Trainers. This last activity enables Miew to train other young people to become effective volunteers like herself.