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11 July, 2002
World Vision's Gideon Byamugisha, the first African priest to acknowledge
his HIV-positive status, chose the 14th Annual AIDS Conference in Barcelona
this week to launch his book, Journeys of Faith.
He told a small but receptive crowd of reporters and FBO (Faith Based
Organisation) representatives that he personally is 'not dying of AIDS,
but living through AIDS', and that the church in Africa has leaders showing
courage and determination in the battle against HIV.
"Many church leaders have, contrary to popular opinion, mobilised
themselves to take a part in the fight against AIDS in Africa," he
said, at the launch of the book Journeys Of Faith which he has co-authored
with Lucy Steinz, Glen Williams and Phumzile Zondi. Journeys Of Faith
takes a look at innovative church-based programmes that are meeting the
challenge of HIV in Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa, and makes a
compelling and encouraging addition to the literature on FBO response
to AIDS in Africa.
Byamugisha, who strongly emphasised his World Vision credentials as well
as his history as the first priest in Africa to acknowledge his HIV-positive
status, said it had been a joy to research the book and discover a lot
is being done by little-known people of faith to show love and concern
to the suffering.
"This doesn't get the recognition it deserves," he said. "The
conclusion we come to in the book is that we are not powerless against
this pandemic. Rather than AIDS impacting us, we can impact the pandemic."
He acknowledged also the incidents of stigma, rejection and condemnation
that have marred the church's response, and called on church leaders at
all levels to bring an end to such negative witnesses. Such love and attention
as had been shown to him had enabled him to live a long and productive
life, despite the virus, he added.
Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungone of Cape Town, head of the Provinces of
the Anglican Communion in Southern Africa, a man known to his flock as
'God's activist' for his work on HIV and AIDS, welcomed the book.
After citing a litany of figures from recent UNAIDS and USAID reports,
he noted: "Statistics can dazzle us like rabbits in the car headlights,
but we are most concerned about people, about putting the human face on
AIDS. It's people who matter. We hold as a cardinal principle the sanctity
of life - all efforts at preservation of life are of utmost importance.
"And as faith communities we are guardians of moral and spiritual
values. It's part of our task to be involved [in both aspects] in a way
that seeks to address the pandemic."
When people are suffering or are joyful, it's the pastor they go to first,
said the Archbishop. As the man with leadership responsibility for the
Anglican church in the part of the world with the most people suffering
from AIDS - 75% of people living with AIDS are in Southern Africa - he
urged his co-worshippers to indulge in the 'core business' of care and
compassion, and not to stigmatise victims of AIDS or reject sufferers.
Sandra Anderson, of UNAIDS in Southern Africa, welcomed Journeys Of Faith
as a step forward in promoting the work of the church and FBOs in Africa.
"Faith based organisations are in many ways the leaders in the community
response to HIV," she said. "It's very important to see a document
like this come forward in the context of leadership accountability that
we are all talking about in Barcelona. Church leaders must be made accountable
for the choices they make.
"This small, humble book carries a real wallop in this conference.
We all need to work harder to make the role of the church visible, and
then these kinds of courageous stories will be contagious."
Co-author of the book Lucy Steinitz, a practising Jew living and working
in Namibia, said her observation of the church's work in southern Africa
was that it was principled, strong and good.
"It's with much joy that I've heard quite a lot at Barcelona about
the role of the church in combating HIV/AIDS, but with sadness that I
realise there is not one prominent session that gives a voice to the church
to talk about that work," she added.
Steinitz suggested 10 reasons why the church in Africa is a leader in
the response to HIV, and should be incorporated in all plans to confront
the pandemic:
· Spirituality is very important to the African people, especially
in Southern Africa
· Churches are already providing much leadership on the issue of
AIDS at the community level.
· Churches reach farther and faster than any other institution
in Africa (for example Namibia is 95% Christian, and 70% of the population
attend, at least weekly, one of the four main denominations - two Lutheran,
Anglican and Catholic)
· The church structure is ideally suited to long-term community
based support for tens of thousands of people. It's sustainable, won't
go out of business, and interventions started in churches tend to grow
over a period rather than diminish
· The church has moral authority, and values of care and youth
outreach. "People listen to church leaders, even if they don't always
follow their advice."
· The church is a reservoir of volunteers, local leadership, existing
groups and youth activities, and as such is ready-made for interventions
· Many African countries already have strong ecumenical movements
and effective links to international organisations
· Most governments recognise the role of churches in the fight
against AIDS and approve of their interventions
· Many government bureaucracies move much more slowly than most
churches in responding
· FBOs fill a critical gap in civil society - we need to focus
on that and help them to fill it
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