Among the event's highlights are photographs of and by HIV-positive children, who are or were under the care of Lentera Anak Pelangi (LAP). The event’s organizers stated that the letter ‘k’ in the title represented kids.

LAP founder Irwanto said the exhibition aimed to educate the public about the lives of children with HIV and their families. However, it was not expected to portray sadness in their lives. “We want to show that these children are optimistic. But we cannot guarantee that their optimism will last if we do not care about them,” he said.

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Visitors attend the exhibition's opening event.(JP/Masajeng Rahmiasri)

He stressed that although there was no cure for HIV, the children's life expectancy could be increased if the virus was detected early. However, there were issues surrounding the needs of children with HIV, including discrimination.

“When we talk about children with AIDS, people automatically think about premarital sex and other things, while actually [what they should focus on is that] these are only children,” he told The Jakarta Post, adding that the issue led to a lack of human resources to help the children. “Our program is among the most well-received because it is aimed at children. The discrimination is less strong, but it still exists.”

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Irwanto also cited a lack of knowledge, neglect from family members and low economic power as other issues in caring for the children. “Another challenge is convincing the children that they always need to take their medicine at a fixed time,” he said.

During the exhibition’s opening event on Saturday, Abraham Simatupang, a doctor and volunteer at LAP, stressed the importance of being open with partners. He said that if people with HIV were truthful to their spouses, the rate of mother-to-child transmission could be reduced. “If we are able to detect it early, we can help when the couple plans to have baby. They could have a normal pregnancy and give birth normally to their children,” he said.

LAP is a social organization under Atma Jaya University that focuses on providing home-based care for children with HIV from low-income families. It currently provides social and educational assistance, nutritional support, as well as medicine and health care for 97 children in Jakarta and surrounding areas. It has partnered with Helping Hands, a non-governmental organization initiated by staff from the US Embassy in Jakarta, to hold the exhibition. (kes)