HIV/AIDS in Russia

HIV/AIDS in Russia

'I care about every child' campaign

'I care about every child' campaign

How can I help?

How can I help?

How we help

How we help

Campaigning in Chelyabinsk

Campaigning in Chelyabinsk

The first Russian summer camp for HIV positive children organized in Orenburg Oblast

The first Russian summer camp for HIV positive children organized in Orenburg Oblast

A Visit to a Children's Hospital

A Visit to a Children's Hospital

Pre-natal care for HIV mums

Pre-natal care for HIV mums

Second chance for Timur with a new mum

Second chance for Timur with a new mum

Living with a secret

Living with a secret

Great Relief: testing for HIV and the prevention of mother to child transmission

Great Relief: testing for HIV and the prevention of mother to child transmission

A chance of a happy life for little Polina with HIV, and her new mother Tamara

A chance of a happy life for little Polina with HIV, and her new mother Tamara

The show goes on, earthquake and all: AIDS campaigning in Gorny Altai

The show goes on, earthquake and all: AIDS campaigning in Gorny Altai

 

The first Russian summer camp for HIV positive children organized in Orenburg Oblast

© 2007 UNICEF/Dina Strokova

“I don’t go to kindergarten and rarely see other children. And here we play all together, sometimes even with clowns, and we drew great pictures!” – says Vanya, 4 years old, who spent 20 days in the summer camp for HIV positive children with his mom. Vanya’s mom, Lena, adds that their family of five lives in a tiny one-room apartment and the camp has given her an opportunity to finally spend some time alone with her kid.

Altogether 27 children and 22 adults – parents or guardians – took part in the camp organized by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social Development of the Orenburg Oblast. The camp was based at a unique facility – Sol-Iletsk Medical and Recuperation Centre located near salt lake “Razval”, whose water has healing qualities. The Center treats about 2,000 children a year. Sol-Iletsk is a 300-year old resort and salt producing town 75 kilometers from Orenburg, in the very center of the Orenburg Oblast.

Recreational programs that involve whole families affected by HIV/AIDS have been practiced in the West for at least 15 years, but in Russia the first attempt was made this summer in the Orenburg Oblast camp. Such programs give parents and guardians the much-needed break from daily routine, while children can feel “normal” through communication with similarly afflicted peers. Recreational programs encourage children’s social activities, build up their skills to communicate with peers, and help to get out of isolation. Children become more confident, they can share their feelings and ideas with their peers.

“For children with weakened immune system who often can’t attend kindergarten it is very important to get an opportunity to be closer to nature, eat a healthy, nutritious diet and play developmental and educational games,” – says Tigran Yepoyan, HIV/AIDS Project Coordinator at UNICEF Russia.

UNICEF in the Russian Federation expresses its thanks to Aleksey Abdrakhmanov, Director of the Sol-Iletsk Medical and Recuperation Centre and its entire staff for organizing the first summer camp for children living with HIV in Russia.