[procaare] Re: Pre-6th HCC: Children - Infected or Affected by HIV/AIDS (5)

[Celina Castro <procaare@healthnet.org>]

Re: Pre-6th HCC: Children - Infected or Affected by HIV/AIDS (5)
- Celina Castro, Philippines
******************

Wow! I am touched dearly by this reading. Try to imagine millions of children eventually
in the near future will be placed in a similar situation should concerned people and
agencies do not do their appropriate actions.

[*Mod note - Celina is referring to the Washington post article: Kenyan Children Struggle
to Survive as Relatives Shun Them or Take Advantage posted as [procaare] Re: Pre-6th HCC:
Children - Infected or Affected by HIV/AIDS (2)]

On a different angle, I would like to note that children do suffer a great deal when their
parents are ill and eventually die. I really do not know of any specific and concrete
programs for children considered orphaned and vulnerable brought about by AIDS.

Adults are greatly affected by death of a loved one, moreso are the children. When the
parents die, how are children approached and dealt with for their grief and bereavement?
How do they accept death? Were there ever letting go and moving sessions with the
children?

Children are children and they should be experiencing the goodness of life while still
young, are expected to be in school to prepare them for the future and the parents has to
always be there to guide them and pamper them with love.

I know that in countries like Africa, children together with their grandmothers are
expected to be the caregivers for their sick parent. Their schooling is compromised and
they usually end up malnourished because the food budget in most of the cases are used to
buy necessities that would prolong life of the parents or to improve the quality of life
of the sick.

I would like to hear from other members of the discussion on they are able to manage
orphan care, do they have any social welfare intervention and program for the orphaned and
vulnerable.

Here in my country, there was a positive lady with two children. The government decided to
take away the children from this positive mother for fear that she might not be able to
look after the children. She was fighting for custody of her kids but she did not win the
battle and she was declared as unfit to care of children. She was not even allowed
visitation rights to her children. The children suffered a great deal of psychological and
emotional trauma. Until she died she never was able to get hold of the children. Now the
children stay with an agency where they were endorsed by the welfare department of the
government.

I pity the children because they never had experienced living, eating and sleeping
together with mother. Now, all they can do in order to feel the presence of their mother
is through the use of a picture of their mother. They kiss and hug their mother's picture.
They run for comfort to their mother's picture whenever they have some problems simple or
complicated. They never were able to see their mother when she died. They were just given
a copy of the picture and this picture reminds them of their beautiful and caring mother.

Celina Castro
Email: <palliativerp@yahoo.ca>

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