Materia Medica Malaysiana

A home for HIV patients

THERE are 25 residents at the Welcome Home in Rawang, a home for critically-ill HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) positive patients who are left alone to tend to their own miseries.
The home, set up seven years ago, has become a sanctuary for full-blown AIDS victims who have nowhere else to go.
"Their families have rejected them and they have no one to turn to," said Alex Arokiam, head of the home.
Many bed-ridden patients seek treatment and support from the caretakers, who are themselves HIV-positive.
Some are literally skin and bones lying in bed, unable even to feed themselves.
"We give them as much courage and support as possible so that their remaining days will be happy," said Arokiam, who runs the home with the help of his wife, Ivy.
The home is an old colonial mansion on a 1.2ha site that houses drug addicts and HIV positive patients.
They are referred to the home by government hospitals in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Sungai Buloh and Seremban.
According to Health Ministry figures, about 58,000 Malaysians are infected with HIV and 6,545 have died of full-blown AIDS. It is estimated that another 4,000 people will be infected with HIV this year.
The four caretakers at the home were trained by a Frenchman, Mark Rogers.
"The home plays an important part because we deal with those who have been rejected by society," said Arokiam.
The home is a pilot project of the National Office for Human Development that is run by the Catholic Church of Malaysia.
Its founder, Brother Anthony Rogers, realised that people with AIDS, especially the drug addicts, were mostly rejected by society.
Arokiam lamented that only three out of 10 families visited these "patients" regularly.
The home is also paying for the residents' medication, which costs RM5,000 a month.
"It is very expensive and we hope organisations will come forward to bear at least 50 per cent of the cost," Arokiam said.
The medication for each patient costs anything from RM70 to RM248 per month.
Arokiam has also appealed to Substance Abuse counsellors to volunteer their services at the home.
"We also need volunteers who can teach arts and crafts to the residents so that they may occupy their time effectively."
Those interested in volunteering their services can call 03-60351463 or 019-2287750 (Arokiam).