Mai Tam Center in Ho Chi Minh City was opened in July 2005 to care for these women and children affected by HIV/AIDS. Hope is Life Foundation is working with Mai Tam Center to assist children as young as four months old to provide for their welfare and education. Currently, more than 40 children, mostly under the age of ten and women are living at the orphanage.

Natascha is seen entertaining a group of children infected with HIV/AIDS at the orphanage

4-month old Vee infected with HIV virus 

Asia is confronting a complex and devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic. Many countries, including Vietnam, appear to be on the edge of this epidemic. Migrant workers spend long periods of time away from home and frequently visit sex workers, then return home to infect their spouses, who in turn, pass the virus to their unborn children. Often, many wives discover they have HIV only after their husbands are admitted to the hospital in the final stages of AIDS. Once their husbands die, many wives are abandoned. The society does not accept them. Many children also infected by HIV are abandoned. Many times the children are left on the streets and their mothers simply disappear or if they are lucky, they are left on the doorsteps of someone who cares to take them.

These three girls at the orphanage attend public school 

AIDS-related stigma can lead to discrimination towards people living with HIV/AIDS. AIDS-related discrimination means that people are treated negatively and denied opportunities in their daily life. Discrimination against AIDS victims in predominantly rural area is also on the rise, families often disown HIV positive members and children with HIV/AIDS are frequently thrown out of schools.

Debbie Yogachandra is seen with a girl infected with HIV virus 

“Stigma remains the single most important barrier to public action. It is a main reason why too many people are afraid to see a doctor to determine whether they have the disease, or to seek treatment if so. It helps make AIDS the silent killer, because people fear the social disgrace of speaking about it, or taking easily available precautions. Stigma is a chief reason why the AIDS epidemic continues to devastate societies around the world” – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon