MANDALAY, Myanmar (UCAN) -- Volunteers serving people with HIV/AIDS in Pyay diocese say a Church-run care and counseling workshop has helped equip them with skills for more effective service.

Min Min Oo told UCA News that the recent Home-based Care and Counseling Workshop held by Karuna Myanmar Social Service of Pyay diocese (KMSS-Pyay) for its volunteers was tremendously beneficial. Karuna (compassion) Myanmar is the social and development organization of the Myanmar Catholic Church.

"I have acquired much knowledge and many skills at this workshop," the volunteer said. He added that the training "has inspired us to work harder" in serving people living with AIDS or the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that usually leads to the almost-always fatal condition.

Nyeint Nyeint Nway, another volunteer, said she has had many opportunities to counsel people who knew or suspected they were living with HIV. "Although I talked with them, I also was at a loss" as to what to say to them, she admitted. After learning counseling skills at the workshop, however, she feels more equipped to handle such situations.

Ten volunteers from Pyay's Myothit and Koe Thaung wards, or administrative divisions, attended the workshop, held Jan. 31 to Feb. 3 in the city, about 300 kilometers northwest of Yangon.

The workshop dealt with topics such as psychological stress associated with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, counseling skills, interpersonal communication skills and symptomatic care.

During the workshop, trainers told participants they can refer people to the government's AIDS and Sexually-Transmitted Infections Control Team, which provides free medical treatment and does blood testing.

The KMSS trainers told the volunteers that they must provide pre- and post-test counseling for anyone having an HIV blood test. Counseling also must be provided for the family, to prevent stigma and discrimination against the member being tested should the test turn out positive, the trainers said.

Participants and organizers told UCA News about the situation of people suffering from HIV/AIDS.

"Last year, I discovered five people living with HIV/AIDS in the ward," said Min Min Oo, who is from Myothit. "There was no one to help them and they were sick and depressed. Some of them have since died. I help them as much as I can by accompanying them to the clinic and hospital, talking with them and giving them a sympathetic ear," he continued.

Maung Maung, 25, a Catholic college student from Koe Thaung ward, told UCA News he has "many friends" who engage in "risky behavior" that could result in HIV infection. He said that after he attended a KMSS-run peer education training in September 2005, he started trying to teach his friends more about decision making, self-esteem, self-confidence and values.

KMSS-Pyay project assistant Mary Yaw told UCA News she knows of people in the locality who died of AIDS, completely abandoned by those around them.

"Three months ago, a woman with AIDS, who had no relatives in Pyay, was ostracized by those around her. There was no one to give her food and shelter. Her spouse had died of AIDS a year before," she recounted.

Yaw said the woman ended up living in the cemetery. When Yaw heard about the case, she and a priest visited the woman, "gave her some food, talked with her for a long time and prayed for her." The woman "was very happy to see us," Yaw recalled. "We promised her we would visit again the next day, but she passed away."

The Church worker said her organization tries to assist as many of those suffering from HIV/AIDS as possible, but does not have the resources to help all of them. "I pray to God that he may grant us the courage as well as resources to help these people," she said.

KMSS-Pyay started its HIV/AIDS prevention and care program in November 2004 and has focused on the two wards. The program includes KMSS referring people with HIV/AIDS by to other service centers, visiting them and providing counseling.

The organization also conducts awareness workshops in the community on HIV/AIDS to reduce the stigma and discrimination against people living with the condition. The KMSS-Pyay HIV/AIDS program is made possible through a partnership with International HIV/AIDS Alliance.

According to figures the Myanmar Ministry of Health released late last year, 338,911 people in the country had been infected with HIV.

Pyay, a town along the Irrawaddy River, is a transshipment point for goods from upper and lower Myanmar. It is a center for traders and truck drivers, and a number of colleges and universities were set up there.

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