Entry Title: " AIDS: Death with dignity "
Name: Michael Robertson, United States


Story: At Wat Phra Baat Nam Phru, a remote Buddhist temple in Thailand's Lop Buri province, the doors of this sparsely equipped and staffed hospice have been opened to the country's rising population of AIDS patients. These surrogate sisters and brothers consisting of roughly a dozen monks and a medical staff of six on a good day, have stepped into the void of this dreaded disease. They are ministering to patients with food, medicine and spiritual guidance- giving the world a lesson in how to help others die with dignity.

Michael Robertson is a photojournalist with a focus on the human condition, disappearing landscapes, and vanishing traditions. He has traveled the world documenting various self-financed projects including essays on AIDS in Thailand, religious pilgrimages in Haiti and Romania, child labor in India and Egypt, workers in Bangladesh and Java, among others. He shoots travel and editorial stock.