"Your Support will help us out of Despair" － Children Affected by AIDS Call for Social Support at Beijing Summer Camp
Seventy children from 8 provinces who lost parents to AIDS or living with sick parents gathered today at the Great Hall of the People at the opening ceremony of the third "Growing up together under the Sunshine" Summer Camp for children affected by AIDS, for most of whom it is a first time visit to the nation's capital. "It seemed as if sky collapsed when my parents got sick and eventually died of AIDS," said Fenfen (not her real name), a 14 year-old girl from Guizhou province. "We lived in pain and despair – no one spoke with us because they thought HIV can be transmitted by the air; we could not get water from the well as they thought we would contaminate the water; and my sister had to quit school at the age of 14 in order to feed my little brother and myself." Fenfen went on to describe how the government leaders and people from all society provided her with financial support, educated the community about AIDS, and gave her a new life, "it is their act of love that pulled us out of despair. Their support has made us strong when faced with frustrations and challenges in life."
Twenty years into the epidemic, many children like Fenfen are increasingly devastated while their parents develop AIDS and die. The challenges they face are multifold – they often have to do extra housework and care for their sick and dying parents, endure extreme poverty, and face the trauma of losing their loved ones and often the discrimination and isolation from their communities, relatives, and peers. China's National Committee for the Care of Children (CNCCC), under the support of UNICEF, has been advocating for the rights of these children through these special summer camps. From the first year when CNCCC had to ask dozens of hotels for a place for the children to stay, to the second when children lived with host families and had the first taste of home, the Summer Camp aims to educate the public on the impact of AIDS on Chinese children and to reduce stigma and discrimination. This year the Summer Camp attempts to move further in addressing the real need of these children by asking the host families' pledge of long term social-psychosocial support to these children, paired with financial assistance to meet their health and education needs from the private sector.
"Children and young people should be at the center of the AIDS response", said Dr. Christian Voumard, Chair of the United Nations AIDS Theme Group and UNICEF Representative at the press event, "UNICEF, and its UN and NGO partners, believe children and young people need to be front and center to ensure they don't miss out on education, vital HIV/AIDS drugs, HIV information and a chance for a future. The Global Campaign on Children and AIDS 'Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS' launched in late 2005 at UN Headquarters in New York seeks aims to ensure the health and protection of future generations. Today, China's commitment to children is a example for the world, and which we must build upon to ensure these few days of enjoyment by children affected by AIDS can last for years to come—through continued support by the government, communities and families."
Today, Mme. Gu Xiulian, Vice chairperson of China People's Congress, Mr. Zhang Huaixi, Vice chairperson of China Political Consultative Committee, Dr. Wang Longde, Vice Minister of Health and Director of State Council AIDS Working Committee Office and representatives from relevant government ministries, UN agencies and other international organizations and NGOs came to the event. Chinese artists Pu Cunxin, Peng Liyuan and Cai Guoqing, all government appointed AIDS Ambassadors, came and spoke at the event. "As an AIDS ambassador, I want to call the attention to the whole society that these children affected by AIDS need a normal life, an education, and friends to play with just like the other children."
In the following days, these children will come to UNICEF to learn about child rights through play sessions, and start their long term bond with their host families by spending 3 days together.
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