Organizers of a program for children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS said in a Xinhua News Agency report today that hotels and other businesses have been keen to be involved this year, in stark contrast to last year.
When the China Youth Concern Committee (CYCC), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) and UNICEF organized the first summer camp in 2004 it took them two months to secure accommodation for the children, according to CYCC official Li Qimin.
Nearly 40 hotels and other institutions in the capital refused them. Their owners thought their stay might negatively affect their business despite the fact that, not only would they have nothing to fear from people with HIV/AIDS, but none of the children were HIV positive anyway.
This year, the CYCC and Beijing Huaxia Charity Foundation found that, not only did hotels offer them preferential prices, but tourist spots they intended to visit exempted them from entrance fees, said Li.
From August 12 to 17, 86 children from around China will be taken to sights including the Great Wall, the Imperial Palace (the Forbidden City) and Tiananmen Square, as well as spending two days with local families.
"After we publicized our search for families to take them in for two days, we received more than 270 applications, which was really a surprise," said Li Guoqiang, another CYCC official.
The volunteers include movie stars, high ranking officials, retirees, teachers, entrepreneurs and army soldiers, he said, "revealing an encouraging strength in society to take care of the children of AIDS victims."
An estimated 76,000 children in China have lost at least one parent to AIDS, according to the CDCP, and their numbers could grow to 260,000 by 2010.
Experts said they suffer similar prejudice and discrimination as people with HIV/AIDS, some having been kicked out of schools or even turned away from orphanages.
The CYCC is a governmental organization, while Beijing Huaxia Charity Foundation is a non-governmental body.
(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2005)
