Positive people

December 2, 2011Posted inHealth16 Comments
Wangda Dorji made history yesterday morning. He revealed that he is HIV positive. And by doing so, he became the first Bhutanese person to publically disclose that he is inflicted with HIV. He made his announcement and shared his painful story with the guests who had gathered to commemorate World AIDS Day. Later, in the evening, four more people joined Wangda Dorji. Tandin Wangchuk, Pema Dorji, Sithal Chhetri and Tshering Choden, Wangda’s wife, also revealed that they have HIV. They, along with Wangda, who is the executive director of “Lhaksam”, a nonprofit support group for HIV patients, shared their…

Sustaining happiness

April 29, 2009Posted inCivil society, Monarchy
I’m in Phuentsholing, on my way back from a special trip to my constituency. I went there to receive Her Majesty the Queen Mother, Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck, who visited Sombaykha and Gakiling in my constituency, and then to accompany the royal entourage to Dumtoe and Dorokha in Samtse.Her Majesty trekked for eight straight days, from the freezing Tergo-la in Haa to the hot and humid Yaba-la in Samtse. She undertook this arduous journey – trudging in the cold winds and snow, in the rain among leeches, and in the sun in sweltering heat – to meet the people…

A Girl with AIDS

January 4, 2009Posted inCulture, Health
My blogging efforts are paying off – yesterday I was invited to a private screening of “A Girl with a Red Sky”, a film about HIV/AIDS.The film is short. But it is powerful. Tashi Gyeltshen, the film’s writer and director, presents a series of matter-of-fact conversations between the protagonist, a nine-year old girl dying of AIDS, and Death who has come to get her.The film highlights the horrors of HIV/AIDS from a very different perspective – it shows Death shocked by the ruthlessness of the dreaded disease.“A Girl with a Red Sky” was funded by UNICEF and YDF, and…