THEIR own families have rejected them and thrown them out of their homes. But people like Frenchman, Francois Bretault, are not afraid to extend a helping hand to such HIV/Aids patients.

Francois Bretault: helps to find HIV patients rejected by their families a place to stay

Mr Bretault, who teaches French at the Alliance Francais as well as Nanyang Technological University, first got to know about the HIV patients from his Singaporean wife, Catherine.

Mrs Bretault, a former teacher, has been volunteering with a group called Catholic Aids Response Effort, or Care. Its members visit bedridden Aids patients at the Communicable Disease Centre to talk to them and give them physical help and massages.

'One weekend, they had a retreat to talk about what they were doing and I decided to join,' explains Mr Bretault, 35. 'They came up with this new idea to find a place to stay for HIV patients who are rejected by their families. So I thought, why not get involved and do my part?'

That was just late last year.

Since then, the group have found a three-room HDB flat to rent, and turned it into a home for four HIV patients.

'We're looking for more places now,' says Mr Bretault. 'Some of these patients are able-bodied, though some are not able to work or were thrown out by their employers. So we do find employment for them once in a while.'

Funded by the Catholic Church, the group takes care of the electricity, telephone and other bills incurred in the flat.

But at home, bad news hit three months ago when Mrs Bretault, 31, discovered she had breast cancer. So he has had to cut back on his volunteer work to support his wife as she undergoes chemotherapy.

The couple, however, plan to return to their previous commitment levels once the cancer is in remission.

'Volunteering is something I've always been doing,' says Mr Bretault, who regularly contributes funds to the needy. 'It has mainly been through church activities where I've been involved from young.'

As an undergraduate in 1989, he and eight other friends had also organised a trip to post-revolution Poland.

'We went with three big vans full of medication because back then, they really lacked everything there.'

While others may remain fearful of HIV patients, the Bretaults are determined to treat them with kindness.

'These people are already rejected by others,' he notes. 'Even the shaking of hands is a big step for them because people don't want to touch them.'