Roteang Orphanage (August, 2002 )
Children with AIDS at Roteang Orphanage
Report from Cambodia: July 25, 2002
from Dr. Hendrie
Just yesterday morning I returned again from Cambodia, where I have been the last two weeks following up on TSF projects. [With no adoptions presently, we used the last of Adopt Cambodia’s funds; as always, TSF pays not for my travel or expenses; our TSF overhead remains at 6%, meaning 96 cents on every dollar you contribute goes directly to the projects.]
I wanted to bring you up to the minute on several new developments.
First and foremost, we have just now become part of a very exciting new program in Cambodia: our HIV/AIDS children, will this week begin receiving triple therapy antiretroviral drugs under a WHO protocol, obtained through Maryknoll, and under the guidance of a Brown University project. For the first time, these drugs -lamivudine, stavudine and nevaripine- are available for pediatric use, bought from India so there is reasonable cost compared to U.S. drugs. The children above all qualify for the program as they have CD4 counts of 15% or less. They will need regular lab monitoring at Pasteur too, but only because we have Dr Ly at Roteang to directly administer the medications, and watch carefully for side effects, do we qualify.
The
cost for us will be $20/child/ month, plus lab costs of about $30 every 3 months.
We of course want our children in the program, but
I am hoping that we will
also find people who will sponsor other children, at least in equal number to
ours, in less fortunate places, like the Nutrition Center, where the cost is $45
child/month because the medical supervision and direct observation therapy must
come from outside the orphanage. I am really excited: we have had two deaths from
AIDS recently at Roteang; now there is something realistic we can do.
The
other big news is that we are converting to solar at Roteang: thanks
to adoptive
parent Jim Ganley of Portland, Maine who came to Cambodia and studied our situation,
and has been planning and e-mailing back and forth for months since about exact
details, we have just signed a contract with Khmer Solar for this project, to
be supervised by reliable good friend and architect, Chun Dy Hok. This technology
was not available when we built Roteang, and we have been pumping water and running
fans and lights via a diesel furl gobbling huge generator. This will now go, and
though we will have a small generator for back up, nearly all our needs should
be met by the solar panels. Cost savings over 10 years are projected to be near
$98,000; our outlay for the conversion is $27,500.
Otherwise,
while Drs Ly and Om and I spent several hours looking at where we can cut costs
in any way in these lean times, I am very pleased with the overall operations.
The Farm program has 46 families now , with 147 children, and has pulled a whole
community from despair with the jobs provided and the good nutrition afforded;
English is sailing along, with over 340 children in 15 sections daily, even through
the summer vacation months. Several graduates have found good jobs, thanks to
their English skills. Smiling vocational training graduates , both boys and girls,
are supporting themselves with their new skills in sewing and in motor bike repair.
We continue to provide milk and medicines to less fortunate orphanages, and have
just delivered another 250 school uniforms, made by our sewing girl grads, to
the Street Children's Project, a local NGO.