Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post- August 26, 2007
Apiradee Treerutkuarkul
Her life has since changed for the better, she said.
The scheme is modelled on a critically acclaimed programme known as the Positive Partnership Project, launched in Thailand by the Population and Community Development Association (PDA).
In 2006, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) used the PDA as a model for a pilot project to economically empower HIV-positive women. It helps the vulnerable women secure jobs and sustain their well-being.
With US$22 million (725 million baht) from the UNDP, the Women and Wealth Project provides technical and marketing training in Cambodia, China and India. The idea is to help HIV-positive women live with dignity and economic independence.
HIV-positive women are encouraged to work together to form small business enterprises to support themselves and their families.
In principle, the programme allows HIV-positive people and family members not infected by the virus to work together. It also creates better understanding of Aids in communities and reduces the social stigma of the virus.
"In a rapidly feminising epidemic, the socio-economic independence of women is essential. It enables women to cope with the devastating impact of the epidemic on their families and livelihood. Useful skills and regular income can reduce HIV vulnerability and help positive women live with dignity and security," said Catilin Wiesen, HIV team leader at the UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo.
Gender inequality and stigma are critical problems for HIV-positive women and girls in the region. This was highlighted during the International Congress on Aids in Asia and the Pacific held recently in the Sri Lankan capital.
Most married women contract the virus from their husbands. When the breadwinners die, women have difficulty achieving economic security and finding resources to run businesses and support their children. Some are forced to turn to the sex industry to survive.
Mechai Viravaidya, chairman of PDA, said access to credit is a human right, and it is also the right of women living with HIV to be economically secure and independent.
"With economic empowerment and business skills, they can overcome the barriers associated with Aids," he said.
"As I have often said, to combat the issue of HIV, we must all think outside of the box."
Srim Phan and her group opened a garment manufacturing business in Phnom Penh called the Modern Dress Manufacturing Factory.
In Chennai, India, an HIV-positive women's network has established a conceptual design and printing business called Social Light Communications. It employs two HIV-positive women and two men as partners.
Another group of HIV-infected women in Yunnan, China has set up a factory to make candles from bee's wax.
"This project is a demonstration that we can be economically independent if given a level playing field and a little support," said Srim Phan, 27, who is the firm's manager.
She said members earn about $45 (1,500 baht) a month from the export of clothing products to Japan and the US. "It's not that much, but at least we have some money to send our kids to school."
Apart from economic security, the well-being of women living with Aids is also ensured. Members of the project's garment factories in Cambodia receive anti-retroviral drugs.
It isn't easy to gain access to new markets, but she remains optimistic the group will get support from within the industry to sustain the business.
P. Kousalya, service manager of the hand-made card printing firm in Chennai, said: "We are not looking for charity, but partnerships for empowerment. If we can access even a fraction of the market, it can make a big difference to our lives."
The card business can generate up to $125 (4,100 baht) a month for each member to support their families.
She is looking forward to breaking even and paying back money to the loan scheme. Net profits will also soon be pooled into the micro-credit programme for other HIV-positive women.
"The job makes us feel alive and gives us hope for tomorrow. It also gives us the power to survive and to live for ourselves and families," she said.
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