Hien, Aged 15
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Hien is 15 year old girl from a poor village in Dien Ban district, Quang Nam province in Central Vietnam. Her father passed away in 2008 from HIV/AIDS. Her father left behind his wife who is also HIV-infected. Fortunately, Hien and her older brother are HIV negative.After the father’s death, the paternal grandparents did not want Hien’s family to stay with them in Da Nang city. Hien’s family had to move many times when their HIV status became known to the neighbors.
Hien and her family moved to a poor quality shack in her maternal grandmothers hometown. Three years later, they got support from a local government to build a small house with contributions from her family. Hien and her older brother have had to change schools when they move to new places. To keep the HIV problem secret, Hien’s mother doesn’t go to the health center nearby. She travels 40km by motorbike to Da Nang HIV clinic to get ARVs medicine every month. Hien’s mother works in a laundry company. This job is long hours, and sometime it makes her feel tired, but she is motivated when she thinks about the future of her children She also raises pigs at her home and hopes that will contribute to cover their daily expense. She has to work terribly hard, and struggles to get enough for her children Now Hien is in grade 9 and is always one of best students in her class. Thanks to good academic achievements in the past school year, as a reward, she was given a tour of the local government in her region. “Although my family is poor, I am happy, because we love each other. I enjoy going to school and I am a good student. I love Math and Chemistry, and want to be a teacher when I grow up” says Hien. Hien enjoys the school very much and being an excellent student. She and her family hope to have a stable life in their hometown and do not have to move anymore. You can help! - She need helps for his basic needs of health care and food. It is USD 480/year. - Hien’s enrollment in school costs her USD 150/year for school fees, books and student uniform. NOTE: VNHIP uses PayPal to process recurring donations. Please enter the name and age of the child/children you wish to sponsor under 'Add special instructions to seller' when you review your order.
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This photo has been 'cartoonized' to protect her identity.
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