Little Moi came to us from the hospital when her last relative died of AIDS. She was six years old and HIV positive, and there was no one willing to take care of her. That's when we started Eden, the HIV home outside Chiang Rai.

The infected children come from mountain villages around Chiang Rai. They have all seen their families die of AIDS, and they have no one to take care of them.

 

During the autumn of 2004, the HIV home moved into two new buildings adjacent to the HuaDoi home. There was room for 17 children between the ages of 6 and 18. A nurse was stationed at Eden to take care of the children, and the older girls from the boarding home helped out with some of the chores.

 

Each morning and evening, the HIV infected children had to take their antiretroviral drugs to keep the virus in check. Nutritious food and supplemental vitamins were also vital for the children's development. Additionally, they had regular medical examinations. All children attended one of the government schools in the Chiang Rai area.

 

Over the years, we began to notice that our HIV-infected children were in very good shape. We even received doctors’ reports showing that the level of the virus in their blood was very low. These favorable results were due to nutritious food, effective medicine and good hygiene. Because of that we decided in 2012 to integrate them with all the other children at the HuaDoi boarding home.

 

We feel it is important for those children to know that they have the same value as all the other children and to be treated no differently. So the boys moved into the newly renovated rooms in the boys’ house and the girls to the girls’ house. After a short while we could see the children blossom as they began to feel ¨normal¨.