In Lamtub, Krabi, two little boys, Pat, 11 and Tan, 10, bow their heads and cry when they see their mother Kwanjai in tears. She is telling the story of what their family has been through since she and her husband became sick from HIV and AIDS.

In this family it is the emotional pain, not just the physical pain, that lingers most.

Three years ago, Saeri Sangtong, Kwanjai’s husband became sick because he was infected with the HIV virus. At that time, they were laborers hired to tap rubber in Nakhon Si Thammarat province.

Though the family did not have their own land, they moved back to Saeri’s birthplace in Lamtub in search of a safe place for him to recover.

The news about the husband and wife’s health condition spread like wildfire in the village. The parents and their 2 children lived in a small shack built on someone’s land far from the community.

Community discrimination was felt most by the children; Tan’s friends often teased him about his parents.

“Tan would get very upset and run to me and ask, ‘Father, should I go and box them?’ I told him no, we must accept the fact,” Saeri says with a trembling voice.

Kwanjai is also living with HIV and AIDS, but the symptoms are not extremely visible yet. She has become a pillar of her family.

“I am hired to collect rubber waste 3 mornings a week and earn 150 Baht a day,” she says.

Saeri tries to help his wife carry some of the responsibilities. While she goes to work in the morning, he takes the two children to school on his motorcycle.

World Vision’s care reaches the family

As soon as the Lamtub ADP staff heard about this family, they immediately responded.

“World Vision provided us with rice and dry food even before Pat and Tan were enrolled into the child sponsorship programme. We have been receiving food aid for one or two years already,” Kwanjai remembered the experiences with a smile and tears in her eyes.

At that time, Pat and Tan were studying in Ban Rai Pattana School, Lamtub district. Their father Saeri was very sick. He could not walk very well and had sores all over his body. Pat and Tan had to help their father while their mother went to work. Studying, especially for Pat, was a challenge.

Now Pat studies at a better school, living away from the family in Phatthalung Province. In his first year, he has gone from being a weak student to a committed and enthusiastic one.

“I like going to school and I enjoy playing with my friends,” he says shyly.

Kwanjai’s eyes shine with happiness and pride as she speaks about her older son’s progress.

“When Pat was in Grade 3 in Lamtub, he could not read Thai. Now he’s able to read. The teacher tutored him during lunch break. He did not go out and play with his friends for almost a year.”

She wants her younger son to have the same opportunities, opportunities he cannot get at home with his sick parents and his discriminating community.

“Several months ago Saeri became very ill, he had to be in hospital and I had to go and care for him. I left Tan in the house by himself. I was anxious as there were a few concerns to be dealt with, such as his meals and sending him to school. In the morning I came home to organise sending Tan to school. Then I returned to the hospital. The doctor rebuked me for leaving my husband alone in the hospital.”

“It’s better for Tan to study in Phatthalung because there are teachers to care for him and I don’t have to keep on worrying.”

Tan left his home to go and study in the Suek Sa Songcroh Phatthalung School at the start of the new school term this year. The boy is now in Grade 4. Still settling in, he is pleased to be home for the holidays. When he says, “I miss my mother,” Kwanjai’s eyes fill with tears once more. But she is determined she has made the right choice.

“In fact in Krabi there is a school like this. But I like the one in Phatthalung because it has both high school and vocational school. I’m not sure if my sons will want to complete high school, but they can study to be technicians instead. When they complete their education, at least they will be able to repair cars or something like that, and earn a living.”

The mother’s hope for her sons matches with Pat’s dream; he says he wants to be a mechanic. Tan, on the other hand, says he wants to be a monk.

Both Saeri and Kwanjai are anxious about their children’s future because they struggle to believe they will be there to take part in it. Thinking of this, Kwanjai cries again, saying “By myself I would not have had the power to send my sons to this school. You need to know the teachers. How could I ever know these people?”

“World Vision contacted the school and enrolled Pat for me. I attended the parent-teacher meetings. That’s how I got to know the teachers and later I enrolled Tan by myself.”

Saeri and Kwanjai continue to receive anti-retroviral drugs in Lamtub Hospital every month. Saeri’s health has improved. His skin no longer has any sores like before. He has the strength to help Kwanjai work in a vegetable plot, on land they have borrowed from a neighbour. Kwanjai puts all of her energy and effort into growing cucumbers and pumpkins to sell them for more income, and the two of them are concentrating on building their health.

Meanwhile, though every member of the family feels the sadness of separation, both Pat and Tan live a normal life, free of discrimination, just like other children in Phatthalung. No one teases or despises them concerning their parents.

“No one knows about our story there,” Kwanjai says.

* The names of these boys have been changed.