Across China: Long journey to joy for child living with HIV

"Auntie, is this a plane?" asked Xiaoyue (pseudonym), pointing at a train.

The mistake was understandable: the train journey to Huzhou was the first time she's travelled more than 2 hours from home. The 5-year-old has been living in poverty since she was abandoned at birth.

Xiaoyue was adopted at two months old by two farmers living in a remote village in southwest Guizhou Province. At two, she was confirmed as HIV-positive. After the diagnosis, neighbors tried to convince her adoptive parents to give her up - but the couple refused.

Ahead of World AIDS Day on Tuesday, Guizhou's civil affairs department teamed up with the provincial children's welfare and adoption center to help 22 HIV-positive children like Xiaoyue realize their dream. For her, this meant a trip her aunt in Huzhou in east China's Zhejiang province.

Prior to the visit, Xiaoyue's longest journey from home was to the capital Guiyang, where she got a health check at the hospital.

During the nine-hour ride, which began early last Wednesday morning, Xiaoyue only slept for half an hour. She was so excited she sang, recited poems and shared snacks with the volunteers who accompanied her along the trip.

"She is 1.2 meters tall, appearing no different from healthy children," said Li Meiying, a volunteer with province's welfare program for HIV/AIDS affected children. "With proper medical treatment, she could grow up, get married and have her own children."

Guizhou began the program in 2012 to promote medicare services and low-income allowance for HIV-positive children. Each month one child is entitled to receive 600 to 1,000 yuan (93.8 to 156.3 U.S. dollars) from the provincial government.

China has reported a total of 575,000 HIV-positive cases at the end of October. The Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention estimates the number of HIV-positive people in China could account for as much as 0.06 percent of China's total population.

In 2012, China enacted a policy to have all HIV-positive children receive the same social benefits - such as a monthly stipend, free schooling, and medical care - as the country's orphans. More than 5,200 children nationwide benefited from the policy.

As a result, Xiaoyue receives 600 yuan monthly from the central government. Compared to her family's monthly income of 2,000 yuan, the small subsidy helps immensely. When possible, her aunt in Huzhou also sends money, providing more than 40,000 yuan over the years.

Despite their financial troubles, Xiaoyue's parents pay strict attention to Xiaoyue's health. They administer her medicine precisely each day, with no need to look at the clock. They even go as far as to warm apples before she eats them, fearing she might fall ill.

"Her father had no idea what AIDS was," said Li. "He clung to the belief that Xiaoyue will be in good health so long as she follows the instructions from the doctors."

Her relatives researched a school in Kunming, capital of the nearby Yunnan Province, which provides free accommodation and education for HIV-positive children, but Xiaoyue's father refused to send her there.

"It is too far away," he said. "What if she doesn't recognize us after she grows up there?"

Xiaoyue loves her family as well. She makes an effort to help around the house, regularly doing chores such as preparing water for her grandmother's bath.

She looks forward to growing up, so that she can wear high-heeled shoes and earrings.

She also hopes to take a plane.

"I had promised her on the phone," said her aunt in Huzhou. "We all love her. She is so pretty, with big eyes."

"I will take her to the scenic West Lake and buy her some beautiful clothes," she said. "Then she will go back by air. Thanks for all those who cared for her, she is a happy girl now, and I hope, will always be." Endi