Health for Wealth Day 4 - House of HIV

Thursday morning brought with it an unwanted wake-up alarm. Despite such an early rise, I still found myself short of time. "Hun, you have less than 10 minutes to get ready," Kate exclaimed while I was still showering. Who thought getting to bed at 3:30am was a good idea?

We boarded the bus (after having to wait for another late-riser who had slept through an alarm) and left the Ibis at 9:45am. The bus ride was best accomplished lying across both seats, with a vertical state impossible to maintain at this stage of the day. I awoke only briefly during our pit-stop somewhere along a highway.

We weren't far from the hotel when Kate and I both managed to steal a glance out the window: Pattaya. Now, how do I best describe my first impressions of Pattaya? It feels, looks, and smells different to Bangkok. It is also occupied with different people, many more Westerners, and it has a very "touristy" vibe. There are bars everywhere (including A LOT of go-go bars, filled with high tables and poles), restaurants (with international cuisines now outnumbering the Thai), street vendors, and a lot of taxis, that are clearly equipped to handle more passengers. Pattaya even has different laws to the rest of Thailand, allowing foreigners to own their own business... You also cannot miss the beach, or rather, "beach". The ocean was hardly visible past the sight of beach umbrellas and chairs that covered the sand. And to top it all off, our local guide, was warning us about the danger of being pick-pocketed.

463/79 Moo 9, Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya, Chonburi 20150

After checking-in at the Ibis and having still not eaten, I boarded the bus at 1:30pm. The drive to the House of HIV seemed to take us through backstreets and the landscape grew barer and drier. "The bus cannot get under the power lines," Nok explained. She definitely wasn't lying, and our bus had already contacted power lines once during the drive. We all climbed off and begun our walk down a dirt road. I felt like I was going to pass out.

Heading rural

The House of HIV

A few hundred metres later, we were met with small concrete houses and a tonne of confusion. The group stood back as Nok spoke with two Thai women that walked out of the house, and we trusted that we had made it to the correct destination despite these two women completely not expecting our visit.

Arriving at the House (Photo courtesy of Katie Cee)

Opposite the House of HIV: local children ordering ice cream from a vendor

If this didn't make us feel uncomfortable enough, a bell was rung, and slowly all the occupants of the house made it to the communal seating area. It was evident that most of these people were sick, many with balding heads and  skin lesions covering their bodies. I felt sad. It was like these people had wandered outside so we could see them, like they were on show. While they sat and glared back at us, the two women (who are sisters) kindly spoke with us and explained a little about the House. 


The House of HIV

• Established by Sandy Trepiccione with the goal of assisting the poor and promote good quality of life 
• Managed by two sisters
• Help poor people infected with HIV, by providing daily care and support, and scheduling medical appointments
• Currently caring for 35 people, including children
• 3 houses on site: 1 female house, 1 male, and 1 for transgender patients
• Runs off 300,000 THB per year, but requires 1,000,000 THB for all operations
• There are no formally qualified Registered Nurses on site - only one nurse aid

Following a quick look on the "Glory Hut Foundation" website

• Pattaya faces many social problems including: prostitution, drug abuse, and the spread of diseases (especially HIV/AIDS)
• The root of these problems are summarised as: poverty, poor educational opportunities, lack of awareness, lack of protection, and lack of social opportunities

The purpose of the foundation:

• To help the society: poor families, those with family problems, and vulnerable groups of society
• To provide a warm and friendly place
• To help develop and promote various aspects of life
• Housing assistance to the families of those who suffer from AIDS
• Change negative attitudes to positive attitudes

http://www.gloryhutfoundation.or.th/about

(Photo courtesy of Sarah Nguyen)

I am glad that following their talk, Emma declined their invitation to show us around the house. The thought of walking around in their barefoot made me feel more ill than I already felt. We later learnt that many of the patients there are infected with tuberculosis and we were all thankful that the visit didn't take us any further.

This visit just left me confused and full of questions... How did these sick and impaired people end up in what feels like the middle of no where? Is this their way of infection control, or institutionalisation? What level of understanding exists, given that immunocompromised people coexist with children and individuals infected with tuberculosis? What is being done to protect uninfected individuals on the premises? Is there education regarding the spread of HIV/AIDS?

I found it hard to believe that such a facility exists and operates - with no qualified staff, no accreditation, and definitely no policies, procedures or guidelines. I guess this reiterates the fact that the onus falls on community/rural health to develop programs that target these vulnerable population groups and ensure that remote/rural populations still have access to quality and holistic health care.

4pm marked our return to the hotel (thankfully!), and Kate and I finally got to eat. Pad Thai from the cafe downstairs and an afternoon snooze. Just what the doctor ordered!

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Travel tip 9: Do not expect that alcoholic beverages and a 3:30am bed time will make for a pleasant bus trip the following day!

Travel tip 10: Be extremely open-minded when it comes to Pattaya! It is very much another culture shock!