CHP - The Project extends the Great Circle

I found out she had HIV since 2003 when I turned 26, it was the most terrible time for myself ....

Born and raised with poor upland communes Northwest, 13 years old I started to know monetize the beach digging for gold, 16 years old I was using drugs, I can not remember his words when drug addicts, students Growing up in a family of ethnic minorities both father died young and his mother only, I go digging for gold under the senior class with the desire can help women improve their lives but then life Valley park where the grab, lemon approval for a living and the Joneses, express themselves made me fall ... until at 25 I decided to give up drugs and valleys carrying on a family beach living a happy life happy and peaceful inside the people we love.

But fate irony knock me down again for a match then headaches are treated in general hospitals in Bac Kan after completing the test procedure the doctor said I was infected with HIV at the time the my daughter was 3 years old and sympathetic understanding of people for HIV that day was not like now, my whole family shunned by everyone, although isolated mother, wife and my son is not Q. I live in infected people, so down, pain and almost desperate. During that time I met a professor - retired doctors to work more at a private clinic he was encouraged and guided me access to care PLHIV in raw state in which I is the consultant physician and realized - is not infected with HIV have all, from that moment I realized something - I need to live! not just living for themselves and their families but also to live to claim: drug addicts, people with HIV are not necessarily the ... junk as some people believed. I want to do everything I can, to help those who are in similar situations as I stood up when they stumble.

My wish came true. In April 2012 when the project Empowering civil society organizations to successfully implement harm-reduction initiatives, the Center of Community Health Promotion (CHP) came to me. I like being added vigor to accomplish what he cherished so long. With the support of the project and the care and help of the government, I and people in similar situations established self-help groups Solidarity firmly together, to forget the past - looking at ourselves and do things that have community benefit. Since the establishment of the group so far has been almost a year I and brother in the group as well as the group you are involved nearly 20 trainings, improve the knowledge and skills held by project CHP. The training courses that helped us a lot more confidence, increased energy, confidence in the future.

During start-up a lot of people do not understand anything about self-help groups but everyone's view changed when we reach and support those who are in similar situations, such as Vi Van CART team members - one person drug use, when discovered he was infected with HIV (PLHIV), the lack of understanding family has abandoned him .... Our group was comforting encouragement, support him access health services and antiretroviral ARV medication. In these days of treatment in hospital he struggled with the pain of physical and spiritual brothers in the group took turns caring both physically and mentally, after time return to this treatment of his health recovered was live, work like a normal person and family has welcomed him back.

Or the case of the European Wencheng of NCH when team members are elementary school my mother to let me go to school faced opposition from the other parent does not keep her and their child. Brothers met with government groups, through the intervention schools and explain to them about HIV, rights of NCH then she has been admitted to hoc..v..v ... all the things we have group be done till today is thanks to the support of CHP projects, the enthusiastic help of the trainers in the training in order to provide the knowledge and skills fundamental for us .. . kindness sharing in all that helps us do more useful things.

Help facilitate loans from the revolving fund with capital at preferential interest rates from our group project modeling goat farm collective employment support income generation and family members. Empowerment Project helped us top men seemed to have been lost in life - have proven their rights can still be useful for family life and community.

Since participating in the project I felt my life more meaningful, more confident optimism, especially when my brother and support team to help get those circumstances as we someday. I hope the  Empowerment project of CHP will always stand beside our team and our group of friends to do more things, more useful lives better and more beautiful.

Bac Kan, on 28 May 03 2013

Nguyen Thanh Ba

Solidarity leader - Bac Kan