What is Baan Sabaay?

Baan Sabaay is a shelter and respite facility for people living with HIV and AIDS. It originally opened on July 7th 2002 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

In Thailand, there are nearly 1 million HIV infected and over 20 thousand people living with AIDS. About half of them live in Northern Thailand with Chiang Mai as it center. In Thailand, sick people are traditionally taken care of by their family members and neighbors. Some people, however, do not have the family or are discriminated against and they come to Baan Sabaay.

There is a lot of fear surrounding HIV and AIDS and people living with the disease often have difficulty handling all the emotions. Our hope is that Baan Sabaay can be an oasis of acceptance and hope. We encourage and prepare our visitors to live active and productive lives. We also hope through our activities within our community that we will create a more loving and accepting atmosphere.

Baan Sabaay can facilitate residential care for up to six people at anytime and provide continuous care 24 hours a day. The Baan Sabaay facility is also able to serve as a meeting location for other groups during the daytime, including support groups for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). In addition to being a care facility and a focal meeting place, Baan Sabaay plans to help those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS find sustainable sources of income by being a resource of information and training on income generation projects. In line with that goal, Baan Sabaay has available extensive grounds which could be used for vegetable gardens, fruit growing or construction of workshops for small businesses.

The objective of this project is to expand the capabilities of the Baan Sabaay facility as a holistic care center by making it more of a resource center as well for those locally affected by HIV/AIDS. The objective is to not only to continue to provide essential care services to those without access to the Thai health care system, but to also empower individuals and their families to become self-sustainable through support groups, income generating projects and increased local community involvement.