Austrian money – for HIV positive children in Kiev and Makeyevka
Makeyevka orphanage decided to buy new furniture, medical and domestic equipment and TV sets for kids’ play rooms. Makeyevka orphanage was established on the base of endocrinology sanatorium in 2001. The building itself was constructed in 1969 with almost no reconstruction works since then. Kids got the facilities out of fix and with unsuitable furniture. Some of the rooms are still equipped with antiquated wash-stands, as the problem with the water supply has not been solved yet.
Today Makeevka orphanage is the home for 86 kids. For 19 foster children, who are elder than 4 years old administration organized an artificial school in the orphanage and real computer classroom.
All orphanage employees are in search for sponsors; nurses and doctors repair and decorate kids’ bedrooms by themselves. Despite the fact that Makeyevka’s HIV positive orphans have a lot of helpmates, there are much more problems. Therefore, on the “demand” list of the necessary things were play-pens for the smallest and TV sets for elder kids, domestic appliances for nutrition unit and medical equipment.
Luydmila Batekhina, deputy director of Makeyevka specialized orphanage says: “Thanks to our partners, our children can enjoy new furniture and watch TV. The work of nutrition unit and medical laboratory has improved considerably after installation of the new equipment. We can not change the destiny of our children, but we can make their life better and brighter”.
The administration of the Kyiv regional children hospital has decided to spend money on the equipment for the manipulation room. “At least something will be up to standards!” – doctors joke. The manipulation cabinet now is equipped with medical chairs, beds, tables and other equipment, produced in Poland.
The infection department of the Kyiv regional children hospital №1 has been a home for kids from “Beryozka” orphanage for more than a year. During the reconstruction works, all kids with HIV were hosted in the hospital wards on Bogatyrskaya Street. Volunteers from the Network of PLWH and parents of other HIV positive children helped a lot to the doctors to look after the kids. When renovated building of the “Beryozka” orphanage opened its doors for the kids, two floors of the infection department emptied visibly. Kids are back here only by doctors’ appointment card since then. The infection department is the first home for many newborn babies. They are brought here with their mothers after detection of mother’s HIV status. Very often doctors persuade the desperate mothers not to leave kids, give them information about chances to avoid HIV transmission, help mothers to survive first weeks of the motherhood. Frequently, HIV positive kids spend days and months in hospital wards. They do not have too many choices to go out. Among the staff of the hospital there is no vacancy for a teacher.
Yuriy Kozhara, head physician of the Kiev regional children hospital №1: “Our hospital is the only one medical institution now, where kids with HIV/AIDS can receive highly-qualified medical help. For 11 months of 2005 the number of such patients was more than 150. Modern equipment for the manipulation room will improve the level of medical help and, certainly reduce the risk of contracting HIV by medical personnel”.
The results of already completed support projects you can find at Supporting People on our website.
For detailed information, please, contact Pavel Piminov, Communications Director, Elena Pinchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation on e-mail: [email protected]. Contact phone number: +38 (044) 490 4805.
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