By Jialing Wang | PATS Volunteer, GlobalGiving Coordinator
Dear PATS Supporters,
We hope you are enjoying the beginning of your summer. With the summer we wanted to share a very heartwarming update written by our community health workers, Ming Yue and Li Chao about one of our kids, Dian Dian. We've edited some of the translation to make it clearer, but we wanted to preserve the essence of the way they wanted to tell Dian Dian's story.
We also wanted to share an exciting matching drive tomorrow, July 16th, starting at 9am EDT.
Meet Dian Dian
We met Dian Dian in 2010. Her mother comes from Yunnan Province, then got remarried in Li Xin Village Fuyang City. Dian Dian’s stepfather is kindly and simple-hearted. They lived with Dian Dian’s grandfather and her uncle. They built a new house which was much better than before. The road was paved under the whole village’s efforts.
Dian Dian studies in a primary school which is near her village. Her neighbors know her family’s situation but there has been no discrimination. Dian Dian plays with her friends and they study together without AIDS’s influences. Dian Dian does not like to study. We even went to her school, the education there is not good and teacher’s level is not high. Children at this age like to play and because their parents focus on the farm, it is easy to ignore kid’s studies. Sometime we bring the books and toys to them. They like them very much.
In these years, our program changed their drug awareness. In the beginning of this program, they often ate the wrong medication. At that time, we taught her mother the importance of taking their medication. Now Dian Dian’s adherence is much better than before. Although her mother now supervises Dian Dian in taking medication, sometimes they sleep very early and forget to eat meds. Since we came to her home for visiting, the influence is positive.
There are 3 kids in this family. Dian Dian was brought here from Yunnan Province, so she gets less love from stepfather than her brother. Every month we went to her home and brought her food and gifts, these food and gifts will be taken by her little brother. Dian Dian knows her situation and has no choice. When we talk to her mother, Dian Dian will rely on her mother’s shoulder. Maybe her mother is the only one who she can trust. Dian Dian can bear her brother’s bullying, because her mother teach her to be kind and tolerant.
One day, we visited her home. We walked around in her village for almost an hour. Dian Dian talked to me a lot without any guard. She told me about her classmates and the games they often played. Sometime her brother will bully her. In our conversation, we heard her grievances and her tolerance. We believe she is a kind girl and she will have a lot of friends in her life in the future.
I still remember our last home visit. Dian Dian wore a very thick jacket. This jacket was a new one. I said today is a little hot why do you wear a thick jacket. She was very shy and did not say anything. Her mother told us that because of our visit, she wants to show her beautiful side to us. Actually, Dian Dian’s the most beautiful girl in our heart. Because during every home visit we feel her pure heart.
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