Give Care to HIV-Infected Cambodian Children
New Hope for Cambodian Children (NHCC) adopts a multi-disciplinary approach in order to support and assist thousands of children infected with HIV and AIDS, and their affected families, throughout Cambodia. Your sponsorship will provide support to "Our Village, an 18 acre property located in Kampong Speu province that provides a full range of housing, nutritional, health and educational needs to orphaned and abandoned children currently infected with HIV/AIDS.
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The Need
Cambodia has the highest HIV/AIDS incidences in Asia, with an identified infected population of approximately 64,750, including 3,350 children under the age of fifteen. According to the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STDs (NCHADS), in 2008 approximately 2,900 of these infected children were receiving ARV treatment, meaning that unlike in the past, these children will be able to survive to live out their adult lives. However, NCHADS also estimates that as many as 109,000 children could be orphaned by HIV/AIDS by 2011. Very few orphanages in Cambodia are willing to take in orphans who have HIV/AIDS, causing many of these extremely vulnerable children to end up living on the streets.
About New Hope for Cambodian Children
Partner since September, 2009
Opened in late 2006, NHCC’s runs an 18 acre property located in Kampong Speu province that provides a full range of housing, nutritional, health and educational needs to orphaned and abandoned children currently infected with HIV/AIDS. The facility is called ‘Our Village’ and currently cares for 160 children between the ages of 2 and 18 who have no other housing alternative; many are orphaned by the virus, and others come from families who no longer have the capability or financial resources to care for them. These children are referred to NHCC by government-run hospitals, INGO’s and NGO’s.
‘Our Village’ comprises of 24 houses, in which up to eight children live with a care-giving couple. Houses are constructed in groups of 3, sharing a common kitchen and eating area in the center, in order to encourage an extended-family atmosphere. Whilst the children receive ARV medication from a local clinic supported by NHCC, an on-site medical center, which employs a part-time doctor and full-time nurse, allows for the on-site treatment of opportunistic infections, as well as a range of other medical and dental-related ailments.
Four dedicated classrooms, a computer lab, and a nursery and preschool staffed largely by international volunteers, provides for the educational and vocational needs of the children. Sporting facilities include a basketball court, volleyball nets, and recreational areas which are used for free-time activities.