Support HIV/AIDS Treatment for Kids in China

Through a generous matching gift fund from board member Chris Flowers, donations made to PATS by December 31, 2010 will be doubled, multiplying the impact of your gift.  If you've been meaning to give or have a gift card to use, make sure you take advantage of this opportunity!

We also have some more updates to announce:

• PATS assistant director Cherry Wan is currently in China administering a training session for our team of community health workers and checking in on each of the children in our program.  See a report from her visit so far below.
• On December 3 and 4, PATS volunteers sang carols and greeted passersby in Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA in front of the world's largest wallet.  Watch the interview with PATS director Eliza Petrow here!
• The most popular way for donors to engage with the PATS kids and learn about their circumstances and challenges is our Sponsor a Child program.  With your commitment to sponsor a child for one year, PATS can ensure
  • Regular health checks by community health workers
  • Adherence to drug treatment regimes
  • Access and transportation to physicians if problems arise
  • Nutritional supplements, critical for treatment effectiveness
  It costs roughly $880 to provide for the needs of one child each year.  Sponsors receive photos and updates twice a year, and have the chance to send gifts and supplies during our regular support visits.  Please click on the link above to sponsor a child.

Field report from Cherry:

The first photo above is DianDian (the girl in orange) from Lixin. She is one of the nine new kids enrolled this past summer, and her health and CD4 have already markedly improved since she joined the program. Her house is also much much cleaner now. With the daily pill chart, she and her mom both now have perfect treatment adherence. The teddy bear she is holding is from her sponsor.

The second picture is YuJuan (the girl in purple), also from Lixin. For some reason, she was super happy when we visited. She was really happy with the gifts from her sponsors. Her grandpa is in charge of her medication and is now paying a lot more attention since getting support and education from community health workers.

The children in the last photo are siblings ZiHao (boy) and Yue (girl). They both live in the WenChangGe group home in Fuyang with three other HIV-positive orphans. They are really lucky to have each other's company and are very playful!

Links:

• Sponsor a Child