RSSHundreds of people with HIV or AIDS here enjoyed traditional games at a Church-run fair and were able to acquire, at no cost, necessary goods and food for the Tet, or Vietnamese New Year, festival.
Nguyen Thi My Linh carried new clothes, shoes, sweets, instant noodles, milk and sugar, while her daughter hugged a rag doll.
They were among 500 people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which usually leads to AIDS, who attended the fair on Jan. 17 in the Dong Tien parish church compound. Ho Chi Minh City archdiocese’s Committee for HIV/AIDS People arranged the event.
Jean Baptiste Do Van Loc, a committee member, explained patients were given coupons to use for games of chance and skill at the fair. Winners received tokens worth 1,000-5,000 dong (US$0.05-US$0.29), which they could redeem for food and goods, he added.
The social worker, 60, added that all participants could win tokens, because the games did not require much practical skill.
“I would not have bought these foods and goods for the Tet festival if not for the fair,” Linh, a Buddhist, told UCA News. The traditional three-day festival this year began on Jan. 26.
The 40-year-old mother said her two daughters have long wanted the doll, which costs 120,000 dong regularly, but she could not afford this since she earns just 30,000 dong a day selling lottery tickets. Her earnings are sufficient only for their daily food and boarding-house rent.
According to Loc, the food and goods, donated by local benefactors, were “sold” for a fraction of their market price. As an example, he said Linh obtained the doll with a 2,000-dong token.
Linh said her husband infected her with HIV before he died of AIDS last year. One of her daughters is also infected, she added.
“The fair is an opportunity for people with HIV or AIDS, like me, to have food and other things for the Tet festival,” Linh said.
Catholic volunteers “sold” clothes, shoes, socks, shampoo, soap, milk, sugar, fish sauce, jams, sweets, instant noodles and other items in exchange for tokens. Banh chung, a large bun of sticky rice mixed with green beans, pork fat and spices, steamed in banana leaves, a special Tet treat, was also available. The volunteers also served patients free food and soft drinks.
Social worker Loc said the fair aimed to show respect to the people, who were free to play games and select things they like. “They rarely have the opportunity to visit or shop in public places, because they are discriminated against and abandoned by people, or lack money,” he noted.
Nguyen Thi My Hanh, 10, who is HIV-positive, told UCA News she was happy to play traditional games and exchange tokens for clothes she likes.
Chau Xo Ma Li, 58, embraced her 8-year-old granddaughter, Nguyen Thi Thuy Nga, warmly and proudly after she won in a game of skill.
The Buddhist told UCA News Nga wants to study at a local school but she cannot afford to cover her granddaughter’s school fees. Nga has no friends, Li added, because neighbors’ children keep away from her.
Another Buddhist woman, Hanh, 31, told UCA News she, her husband and three children aged 3-10 all visited the fair. She said one of the children, who also is infected with HIV, receives a monthly allowance from the Church committee. She is grateful for the Church’s help as she tries to overcome challenges and support her children until she dies, she added.
Father Jean Phuong Dinh Toai, head of the committee, told UCA News the recent fair, the third the archdiocese has held for people with HIV or AIDS since 2007, cost 40 million dong, which was covered by Caritas Vietnam and the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID.
Daughters of Our Lady Immaculate nuns in Hue City, 540 kilometers south of Ha Noi, organized a similar fair to mark World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.
According to government reports, as of August 2008, the country had 132,048 people with HIV, 17,000 of them in Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest city and commercial hub.
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