Flying Doctors
Inspired by their experiences with Rejoice, two former Bangkok Patana students, now medical students at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), have launched their own outreach programme. Their initiative takes young pre-medics to observe rural medical programmes overseas, providing them with a firsthand perspective on healthcare delivery in diverse settings. This programme builds on the foundation laid by Rejoice, which, prior to the pandemic, hosted summer programmes immersing students in the realities of HIV/AIDS care in remote Thai communities, mentored by HIV-positive volunteer healthcare workers from local hospitals.

December 1st. World Aids Day 2023

Self-stigma, also known as internalized stigma, is a phenomenon that occurs when individuals living with HIV internalize negative societal attitudes and misconceptions about the disease and apply them to themselves. This can lead to a range of negative consequences, including:

Winter Clothing and Toys

In the mountainous regions of Northern Thailand, many hill tribe communities face harsh winters. The temperatures can drop significantly, and families often lack the resources to stay warm. To help alleviate these challenges, many organizations and individuals have taken it upon themselves to distribute warm winter clothes and toys to these communities.

There are five main target groups for home visits for HIV/AIDS patients.

Communication and Trust

The work of Rejoice depends upon building the trust of people living with HIV. Making repeated visits to remote home and villages takes time and can be frustrating when confidentiality should be maintained, and the language of the patient is not Thai but the language of one of the many hill-tribes.

Home Care September 2023

Because of the long drive from Chiang Mai they will usually stay overnight (typically in Fang) and visit the villages on separate days. Each day they will be accompanied by healthcare volunteers (themselves HIV+ve) from their respective district hospital thus giving excellent local knowledge of schools and local communities.

Promoting Sexual and Reproductive Health for Adolescents

On August 11, 2023 Rejoice together with Chiang Dao Hospital staff and HIV volunteers, jointly organized an Education and Prevention Session at Baan Fueng School, Chiang Dao District. In attendance were 38 students ranging in age from 13 to 15 years of age.

Ending the Spread of Aids

On Saturday, 22nd July 2023, a meeting was held to further improve knowledge of HIV/Aids for village public health volunteers in Chiang Dao District. The objective was to explain how to end the spread of Aids and reduce the stigma associated with the disease.

Jeremy Berkoff RIP

 We have received the sad news that Jeremy Berkoff passed away on 3rd March 2023.  Jeremy was a stalwart donor to Rejoice,his monthly contributions and generosity to Rejoice and our beneficiaries will be greatly missed.

Gita's Visit

Gita, from Westerlaken Foundation in Bali, Indonesia visited Rejoice to see how the charity operates with the view to offering future financial assistance.

The following articles show how, by means of networking and co-operation of volunteers themselves HIV+ve,, patients living in rural areas are reached.

Songkran 2023

In keeping with this historical tradition, on Wednesday, April 12, the "Su Kwan Doi Luang Chiang Dao Club" (a club for people living with HIV) organized a water pouring ceremony for doctors and nurses who are responsible for taking care of people infected with HIV at Chiang Dao Hospital. Rejoice was also invited to attend.

Baan Mai Samakee E&P

As the devastating effects of the covid-19 pandemic decrease, life in the rural villages of the north are slowly returning to the pre-pandemic norm of 2020. However, much has changed during the past 3 years. The tourism industry collapsed leading to the exodus of thousands of migrant workers.