Throughout March, The Union in Myanmar has been hosting an annual Fun Day for children living with HIV who are part of the Union’s Integrated HIV Care (IHC) Programme.
Throughout March, The Union in Myanmar has been hosting an annual Fun Day for children living with HIV who are part of the Union’s Integrated HIV Care (IHC) Programme.
The IHC Programme currently provides ART to more than 32,000 people living with HIV across five regions of the country. The programme, which began in 2005 from small beginnings (treating 190 in one year), has become a key component of Myanmar’s national HIV strategy.
The Union traditionally arranges a day of celebration and fun for the children who are part of the programme. Usually this is held in Mandalay, but the success of the programme means that there are now more than 2,000 children involved and so this year, the Fun Day has taken place in three different regions.
In Mandalay, the day featured music, dancing, a magician, an artist who made cartoon drawings of each child, a puppeteer, games, lunch and snacks. In the western districts, the parents and communities arranged buses and took the children to the historical site of Bagan, an ancient city full of Buddhist monuments.
The Fun Day was made possible thanks to the generous donations from Union staff and other donors, as well as the invaluable support from parents and local communities - who not only raised significant funds themselves but volunteered time and undertook a lot of the organisation.
The Union would like to extend warm thanks to all those who made the days possible.
