The story of the HAR young beneficiaries: the story of beginning full of hope…
May 5th 2008
Their personal backgrounds start pretty much the same: HIV infected during childhood and the first thing they remember is the hospital the atmosphere in there...
In most of the cases the faces of the mothers and other family members are vague: abandoned in the hospital, the only things they can remember are the nurses who took care of them.
Then having the unexpected opportunity to be taken from the high and cold sick rooms by Health Aid UK into residential centers. That was a place where they got to know what means the warm and the quasi-normality of a home, family, even if it is "borrowed"…
The British experience and method was then overtaken, tailored and developed by Health Aid Romania (HAR), organization involved right from the beginning in activities of social and professional integration of HIV infected children and youngsters.
In 2004, together with the first programs financed by Global Fund in Romania, HAR proposed and implemented for these youngsters a great project, aimed to endure them a good start in life: the apartments for developing some independent life skills.
Fortunately, the 6th Round of Global Fund allowed the continuation and development of this initiative, starting from the obtained results and providing the necessary funds.
I met some of the HAR beneficiaries around the Easter period. Unlike the children and youngsters who grew up exclusively in shelters and institutions, the teenagers from HAR were expecting the Easter with faith and various preoccupations.
All the ones I talked to, told me about their future plans, the career they dream of in different interesting fields of activity. At HAR they succeeded to continue the studies. Moreover, in the apartments - purchased out of the Global Fund grant - the youngsters started to acquire new skills for an independent life.
When telling me about how they arranged their apartments, built and work in the flowers and vegetables' green house, how they succeeded to discover the mystery of some simple activities, such as painting the wood, preparing the dinner, flower arrangements, etc, the youngsters from HAR were definitely transmitting positive energy and a lot of faith.
They already know how to manage a budget, housekeeping, how to make their life prettier, how to dream for their future and home. They told me about their daily activities, about how they learn - being helped by the HAR staff - to become more responsible, more involved, more preoccupied by their and the others well being.
"I think that without HAR and their help I could have done almost nothing out of what I have already did: I wouldn't have known how it is to leave in an apartment, how it is to walk, to learn, to make plans for a job...", told me Razvan, a youngster of only 18 years old, "old" beneficiary of HAR..
When I left the HAR office, the youngsters were hurrying because they had to meet with a Math teacher because the High School-leaving examination is about to be and they are worried about the exam. The tutoring classes organized by HAR are really useful, is another opportunity for them to successfully end the High School.
"Now I leave with 2 more persons in the apartment and is great: I have my own life, there's no one making me observations, we are managing alone the housekeeping, have a program and some rules that we chose by ourselves and we observe them. I cannot imagine how it would be without HAR and their projects: I would have still probably been in residential centers, but I wouldn't liked it..", stated Alexandra, 17 years old, preoccupied by her future psychologist career.
In the opinion of HAR team, the only major problem is the future of this type of projects once the Global Fund grant ends. Who's going to overtake the activities? Will the HAR apartments and their education system have the same faith as other projects with external finance, namely the end early after the funds had finished?
These are concerns that come in the daily activity of the coordination team, permanent concerns for finding and obtaining some additional funds.For the local authorities and even for the central ones, a simple visit to one of the HAR's apartment would be more than enough to understand the importance of what this project makes for the HIV infected youngsters.
The opportunity for a normal life, the very good social and professional integration is the trumps that HAR builds up for them with effort and tenacity.
From persons who are considered being handicapped, they can become - supported and helped by NGOs with experience - independent persons, able to continue their life as any other person of the same age …
Congratulations to the HAR team for the outstanding results and for the splendid way these youngsters are being educated, oriented and permanently encouraged., for the professional way HAR involved in approaching such a complex issue as training for life the HIV infected youngsters!
Stated Dr. Mihaela Stefanescu, Liaison Officer - RAA Foundation
