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General Information About The Center
PEOPLE LIVING AND WORKING AT THE CENTER
The Camillian Social Center, operated by Fr. Giovanni Contarin, is
situated about 200 Km from Bangkok in the Southeastern part of Thailand.
It was built in the Rayong province on land given to the Camillians 27 years ago
by a Catholic benefactress. Rayong province has a population of
approximately 470,000 with over 2,500 full blown AIDS cases.
In 1992, while serving as the chaplain of the Camillian Hospital in Bangkok, Fr.
Giovanni Contarin started a project to cater to the needs of HIV/AIDS patients.
He has been working with HIV/ AIDS patients ever since. Due to significant
opposition to having the project located within the Bangkok community he was
forced to relocate. This led to the establishment of the “ The
Camillian Social Center – Rayong ” located on Thailand's Eastern Seaboard.
This area's rapid industrialization during economic boom period attracted
a large number of both Thai and foreign immigrant workers. The
growth of crime and hopelessness in the area stemmed from the low education of
the immigrant labor force, severe economic disparity and unequal opportunity.
With economic downfall in late 1997 much of the young immigrant labor force
found themselves jobless and without their families for support.
Many turned to the commercial sex industries or crime to make ends meet.
This hopeless situation also led many into drug abuse. These factors all
assisted in spread of infectious sexual diseases like HIV/AIDS.
It is for these people that the Camillian Social Center was founded.
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According to the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), AIDS has been
spreading across Asia faster than anywhere else in the World. The
number of Thai people who are HIV positive and who have AIDS continue to
grow each year primarily due to the lack of knowledge of the disease and
how it is contracted. |
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Currently
there are about one million people infected with HIV virus and 65,729 cases of
of full blown AIDS. The rapid spread of this disease has made a
serious impact on the World's economies,health services and societies.
Thailand has progressed to the 4th phase of the AIDS epidemic where
both husband and wife are both infected. Many innocent children are
orphaned by this tragic epidemic and many left infected by the virus.
Thailand's
unsustainable and uneven economic development has resulted in economic disparity
between rich and poor and significant human rights violations. People who suffer
from economic hardships often to drugs and other destructive acts without fully
understanding the impact it will have on their lives. HIV infection rates
continue to build momentum within Thailand in part due to the insufficient
information provided by the Government. There exists a general lack
of knowledge among the Thai people who most need to be providing guidance on
environmental and health issues. In the Thai society if a person is
known to have AIDS or is HIV positive there are very few organizations who would
be willing to secure that person's services because of their condition.
The Camillian Social Center – Rayong
is very concerned about the social situation in Thailand since the Thai
Government has so far concentrated heavily on economic
development without giving proper attention to social development.
With the recent currency and economic crisis, it is now cutting down on health
expenditure and support. The social situation is rapidly approaching
the critical point. Traditional Thai value and support systems are fast
losing their hold on society and new alternatives are not being developed to
take their place. It is extremely urgent to launch training courses
aimed at helping revive the traditional Thai values and enable them to learn how
to take appropriate positive action and create harmonious relationships with
each other. It is also critical to provide humanitarian help and support
for the sick and poor victims of AIDS.
1. To help reduce the pain and suffering
of AIDS patients by providing medical treatment and patient care to selected
needy people of the region 3 .
( 7 Provinces : Rayong, Chonburi, Sathathip Sriraja,
Trat, Prachinburi, Sakeo,
Ciaciansao, Panatnikom )
2. To help a group of orphaned children
with AIDS to receive medical treatment, education and love.
3. To carry out education and training
programs within the community, providing HIV/AIDS prevention information and
social development skills. The training is also oriented toward developing
attitudes of care, support and understanding for people with HIV/AIDS within the
Thai society.
4. To do outreach and counseling work
geared to safeguard the human rights of people with HIV/AIDS, providing
community support and networking with other HIV/AIDS related NGOs within the
region and across Thailand.
TYPES OF PEOPLE WHO BENEFIT :
1. Adults with AIDS who are poor, homeless and
rejected by their families and communities but need care. 2.
Orphaned Children with AIDS. 3.
HIV positive individuals, families, and others that reside in their own
homes. 4.
Students and factory workers within the provinces of Rayong, Chonburi,
Sathathip and Sriracha who receive training on HIV/AIDS. 5.
AIDS patients in general who face discrimination, legal and human rights
violations. They can join the association of HIV+ “ The way,
The Truth and The life ” |
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1. HIV/AIDS patients who are still strong and can assist in
caring for themselves and others (14 ).
2.
Volunteer and paid staff who assist HIV/AIDS patients to attend to their needs
and to do other full time jobs ( 6 ).
3.
Patients who have no support from their relatives and can stay for a given
period until they die ( 39 ).
