Staff writer
Thirty-four-year-old Wanlapa (subject's name changed to protect her privacy) is sporting a casual pant suit, the outfit she usually wears when addressing an audience. She's wearing make up in an earthy tone, which compliments her fair complexion, providing her face with a radiant glow.
Although Wanlapa has been speaking in public for several years now, she says she still feels rather nervous before an event as she knows that, sooner or later, the gaze of the audience will be fixed upon her.
Raising awareness
These days, Wanlapa doesn't need to do much preparation before a speech since the subject matter of her talks remains a huge part of her daily life. Her talks are regularly included in training programs on HIV/Aids prevention, so she is regularly invited by various foundations and organizations that are adopting similar programs. A typical audience tends to be made up of factory workers, or employees from hotels or other forms of business.
Wanlapa's most recent presentation took place at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Silom, during which she raised awareness to mark World AIDS Day (December 1).
Wanlapa steps out in front of a small group in the audience as the moderator announces that the session will be presented by a person living with HIV to provide an insight into her day-to-day experiences.
Of average height and weighing 55 kilograms, Wanlapa resembles any other professional career woman. But when she confides in the audience about her health status, there is a notable air of surprise.
“I’ve been infected with HIV since I was 19 and I'm now 34,” Wanlapa says during the introduction to her 20-minute talk.
Wanlapa explains to the audience various aspects of her life, such as her work, as well as aspects of her status as HIV positive. She works as a coordinator of a regional network within a corporation, while she also volunteers for a non-profit organization that promotes HIV/AIDS prevention.
Slaying stereotypes
Wanlapa has been giving talks and visiting HIV/AIDS patients to provide advice and psychological support for more than 10 years.
Such talks are now often included in seminars and training programs to offer participants a rare opportunity to learn about the inspirations and ambitions of people living with HIV. Most importantly, the sessions provide the opportunity to put an end to stereotypes among members of the public regarding the performance and capability of HIV positive people.
Nowadays, people living with HIV are often able to maintain a reasonable level of health and they often tend to live far beyond the expectations of others, including health professionals. The situation improved markedly when antiviral drugs became available via the social security system in 2004.
In addition to improvements regarding medication, HIV/AIDS policies in the workplace have also encouraged employers to provide opportunities for people living with HIV to continue to work, while employers are strongly discouraged from asking candidates to provide blood samples.
Before beginning in her current job as a regional coordinator, Wanlapa worked as a receptionist for four years within the same organization.
“I think I was promoted because my supervisor recognized that I always try my best to take care of my responsibilities,” she says, adding that she is only absent from work if she feels particularly ill.
As well as making advances in her professional life, Wanlapa has also managed to maintain her family life.
Several years ago, Wanlapa met a (HIV negative) man, who is seven years her senior. She has been living with him now for six years, together with her 16-year-old (HIV negative) son from her first marriage. They reside as a family unit in a regular apartment.
“My boyfriend says he admires the way I retain my volunteering duties and is proud of me,” Wanlapa says, adding that the couple practices safe sex through the use of condoms.
A tragic trend
The reason Wanlapa became HIV positive is part of a disturbing recent trend in terms of the development of HIV/AIDS in Thailand – married women contracting HIV through their husbands, who seek sexual pleasure from partners outside the marriage. In the case of Wanlapa, she was infected by her husband.
Wanlapa learned the shocking news of her HIV positive status when she was 19. During the period she was carrying their second child, Wanlapa and her husband were told to take a blood test as part of the regular medical procedure. Tragically, Wanlapa lost the child due to her failing health, shortly after discovering the results of her and husband's tests, which revealed they were both HIV positive.
Back in 1994, people generally understood little about the disease and their attitude towards people living with HIV created a terribly difficult situation, which included widespread discrimination.
“Though members of the family had always encouraged me to go for medical treatment, they no longer wanted my husband and I to share the same dining table, to touch things around the house or even use the same toilet,” says Wanlapa, who at that time was living with members of her husband's family.
Wanlapa and her husband quickly moved to a nearby apartment to ease the tension among other family members. She left her one-year-old son with her husband’s parents to temporary take care of him. Sadly, after a few months, her husband passed away.
A born fighter
“I almost gave up on everything, but the thought of my son helps me to keep going,” she says.
Wanlapa has had to fight various symptoms, brought to the fore due to her weakened immune system. As well as suffering acute fatigue and skin infections, she had to battle a bacterial infection on her brain. This led her to lose 10 kg in just a matter of weeks.
Fortunately, Wanlapa managed to regain her strength over a matter of several months and was then able to take care of her son again. She receives medical treatment from Chulalongkorn Hospital and receives psychological support from several foundations that work on HIV/AIDS prevention.
The group activities Wanlapa attended eventually led her to join an organization as a volunteer to help other victims of HIV. Wanlapa got her first permanent job as an operator through a circle of volunteers.
Wanlapa says that improvements in her own personal circumstances have not solely been due to her access to medication, but have also been helped by a reduction in discrimination thanks to a shift in public opinion. These aspects had contributed greatly in helping her to lead a more 'normal' life, she says.
By and large, people understand the facts about HIV/AIDS far more clearly these days, while employers understand that they cannot discriminate on the basis of someone's HIV status.
Nevertheless, it doesn't mean her life as someone who is HIV positive is entirely free of discrimination. Wanlapa explains that she decided to move out of the apartment she had lived in for six years a few months ago since her neighbors had begun gossiping behind her back about her volunteer work, while they appeared in general to be less friendly than before.
Wanlapa ends her talk by pointing out that it is really down to leading executives to provide HIV positive people with the chance to earn a decent living. At the same time, people living with HIV need to take good care of their health and be suitably responsible for themselves and their workplace duties.
“Most importantly, HIV positive people have to accept the truth that they have to live with HIV and build their inner strength on a personal level in order to be able to live their lives fullys,” she says.
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