FK-KMK UGM. According to the Ministry of Health Indonesia, during a period of 2011 to 2016, the percentage of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) had been increasing each year. Data from specific provinces in Indonesia – including the special district of Yogyakarta – showed a similar fashion as well. Unfortunately, according to Herek (2002), PLWHAs were also badly stigmatized and labeled as a sinner who should be shunned by society. This issue impacts their mental and psychosocial health as they tend to close themselves (introvert), have low self-esteem, and being not productive.
Currently in Yogyakarta, there are many NGOs established which focus on providing support to PLWHAs, one of them is Victory Plus. The presence of NGOs for PLWHAs is expected to provide a positive perspective on PLWHAs that they can involve actively in the community. Based on that background, several students of UGM are interested to conduct further research on what strategies executed by Victory Plus in empowering PLWHAs and how they affect them.
‘URIP IKU URUP: A Case Study of The Role of NGO Victory Plus Yogyakarta in Humanizing PLWHAs’ is a social research conducted by UGM students: Fajar Arumningtyas (FK-KMK), Nadia Atina Solihati (FK-KMK), and Anggit Novitariasari (Social and Politics) with Rusyad Adi Suriyanto as their mentor. The research received funding from Directorate General of Higher Education through the students’ creativity program on research field in 2018.
Qualitative method was chosen as the research method, with data retrieval technique through literature study such as journal and webpage, interviews with representatives of Victory Plus, Focus Group Discussion with ten productive-aged PLWHAs, and observation to their workplace as they also received some help through the creative economics program.
On their implementation, Victory Plus has six main programs, which are peer group assistance, assistance of PLWHAs and people near them at their house (home visit), assistance of them at hospital, increased outcome of PLHWAs (income generating), training, and socialization of HIV/AIDS. Beside those, there are additional programs in the form of efforts to empower PLWHAs, so they still can live as active as other people in community. Such activity is assisted by the government in form of Productive Economic Enterprises, which is given to the PLWHAs who have their own business. Some benefits for PLWHAs with this program are: able to hide their health status to avoid discrimination by running a business, decrease the burden of medical expenses, and remain productive with limited health status.
Nadia stated that the final goal of this program is scientific publications and policy recommendations, “in the near future, the targets are scientific publication and submitting at the conference.” (Fajar, Nadia/Contributor_intepreted by Leo)
