Place of True Protection

More than one million current Thai nationals are infected with HIV/AIDS. With the first major outbreak of HIV/AIDS in 1992, missinformation and social stigma spread much faster than the disease itself and patients infected were neglected and shunned by the masses. Unfortunately Thailand still faces issues with these lingering stigmas and lack of education about the disease, resulting in patient's families abandoning them and society ignoring them and not providing any care. Luckily, the Buddhist monks took it upon themselves to help and founded Thammarug Niwaet (Thai for "Place of True Protection".

Currently, this location serves many roles for HIV/AIDS patients like schooling for affecting children, hospital care for patients abandoned by families, hospice care for patients dying from the disease and proper storage of ashes for patients with families that have disowned them and don't want their remains after death. In the temple at Thammarug Niwaet, over 10,000 bags of ashes are stored from AIDS patients who have passed away from the disease and have no one to take their ashes. With the years education, the monks have helped combat this heartbreaking social problem but their work is still not enough. This facility continues to expand and bring in more patients due to a lack of funding and care for HIV/AIDS patients.

-Justin R.