A Visit to a Children's HospitalBy John Varoli It seems that just about anyone can walk onto the Federal HIV/AIDS Children's Hospital in Ust Izhora unhindered. There's no guard as in most hospitals. There's probably no reason for one. Knowing the prevailing attitude toward HIV positive people in Russian society, who would possibly want to come here? As I approach the first of about five buildings on the compound, three small children playing outside on this warm autumn day run up to me. "Our society has a very bad attitude towards HIV positive and treats them as outcasts." "What's your name?" they scream in unison. I answer, and then ask theirs. Their eagerness to engage a total stranger belies the fact that they’ve had have little human contact. In Russia, these children are modern-day lepers. Most people are afraid to touch them, to hug them, and give them the human warmth that they so much crave. The hospital ward I’ve been taken to is home — and I emphasize 'home’ — to about 25 HIV positive children ages four to eight. "No one needs these children," said chief doctor, Zoya Guba. "Our society has a very bad attitude towards HIV positive and treats them as outcasts."
Masha, age 6, recently began piano lessons at a nearby school, however, she can only go after hours when all the other children are gone. Abandoned at birth by her heroin-addicted mother, she is quite shy, but once she begins talking, she doesn't stop. She goes on about her piano lessons, her friends, the time she rode the carousel, and finally mentions the 'apartment.' What 'apartment' I ask. For the past six months, the hospital has sponsored a rehabilitation program where four children and two adults live alone in an apartment for up to 10 days at a time. "We were unsure how it would first work out," said Elena Vedmed, a psychologist at the hospital. "But then we saw how they change for the better when in a family environment." Financing for the project has dried up, however, and the project will soon close. Ten days isn’t much, but it certainly made a strong impression on Masha, who doesn’t stop talking about it. "In the apartment they behave like most normal children, and show greater enthusiasm for life," said Dr. Vedmed. "An important part of their treatment here should be to re-introduce them into a proper social environment."
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