KOTA BARU, Oct 13 — Abdullah Jaafar has, for the past few months, been getting back on his feet again after being discharged from hospital.

The 45-year-old recovering injecting drug user (IDU) is also taking the brave step in coming out as HIV-positive for one reason.

He wants to be reunited with his children. 

“I haven’t seen them in 10 years. When I came out of the Pusat Serenti, my ex-wife had left with them. Her relatives said they didn’t know where they went,” he said.

“I just want to see them before I die. I think about them every day. I want them to know I have changed and doing well. I am healthy. Alhamdulilah.”

He said his two sons would now be aged 15 and 17. They used to stay in Pasir Atar, Kerteh in Terengganu.

Abdullah is among the clients who have made Rumah Sahabat home since May after his mother was unable to care for him.  

His siblings do not want to look after him.

Opened in May, Rumah Sahabat is a shelter home set up by the Malaysian AIDS Foundation and Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) with the Kelantan Patient Intermediary Association (Sahabat).

It is the first home to provide treatment and palliative care in Kelantan and also allows clients to be on the methadone maintenance therapy, compared to other homes which are abstinence-based.

The home cares for those who have been abandoned by their families or do not have anyone to look after them. 

Referrals to the home are normally done by hospitals.

“I found out I was HIV-positive in rehab. But that didn’t stop me from using drugs. I didn’t care,” said Abdullah, who used to work in home construction. 

“Now, I am on methadone and medication. I want to see my kids again, get back on my feet and possibly remarry.”

Another client, Adnan (not  his real name), said he was shocked when he was diagnosed with HIV. 

“I only used drugs sometimes. I drank more than using drugs. That was when I was a fisherman and we used drugs for more energy. Other times, I worked as a repossessor,” said the 43-year-old, who has three children, one of whom has HIV.

His wife, who is also HIV-positive, left him after she could not take his beatings when he was drunk. 

“I just want to be healthy now. My children come to visit me,” he said. 

The home’s manager Muhamad Fadli Muhamad Din said the home, which can accommodate 15 people, currently has six clients.

“We take care of them until they can fend for themselves. This is because we also don’t want to deny others who need shelter,” he said. 

Muhamad Fadli said they also taught living skills like farming besides a future project with Universiti Sains Malaysia to rear bees for research.

MAC executive director Dr Ilias Yee said the home’s facilities catered to the needs of the clients.

“Their needs have to be assessed on an individual basis. Their situation — being HIV-positive and an IDU — is amplified by the stigma attached to the disease.

“People are people. They have different needs. Their treatment cannot be compromised and they need to be respected.”