Baan Mitratorn Orphanage

Today we visited the Baan Mitratorn orphanage. This orphanage is a part of the Ubolratana Foundation and the name Baan Mitratorn means "home of caring friends." This organization was established in 1998 and began as a place to provide relief and care for only children infected with HIV/AIDS. Today, it also provides help to other children who are not infected with HIV, but may be living in difficult conditions, abused, or afflicted by hardships. Currently, there are about 38 children that live in this orphanage and the ages range from 3 months to 23 years. Out of the total 38 children living here, 18 of them are HIV positive, 3 have HIV/AIDS, and 17 children are affected by hardships. Baan Mitratorn provides daily antiretroviral medication for the children infected with HIV. All the children staying here are also provided with an education as well as life skills, such as doing their own laundry once they are old enough. We took a tour of the orphanage, but unfortunately we were not able to see or play with any of the children. The children were still in school and they also explained to us that they did not want to separate the orphan children from the other students, as it could cause stigma and they did not want any of the children to be teased. The children living here seem to be cared for really well and they are given an education and many opportunities.