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Women united against drought

Women united against drought

6th February 2009 Kitui, Kenya- Women in Kaikungu village came out in large numbers to provide the much needed ‘woman power’ to complete the community sand dam. One hundred and twenty women mobilize ballast, break stones, mix concrete, fetch water and transport construction materials to the site, all in the hope of stopping a chain of drought that has affected the community for more than a decade.

“We are grateful to many things (water projects) church world service has been starting in our community” Kitui Anglican Church of Kenya Bishop Mule said, in appreciative tone. “This is great love”- he added.

Church World Service launched a fundraising initiative to respond to the drought situation in Kenya threatening with starvation lives of more than 2 million people. Church World Service through its local partners have constructed sad dams, drilled bore holes in drought affected areas to provide water.

“we are pleased to walk with you in search of water” said the visiting Community Responding to Overcome Poverty (CROP) team leader from US. “we walk so you can have water”.

The water project has brought hope to a community which has been reduced to begging due to lack of water for irrigating their kitchen gardens. “Church World Service has brought us far, we now have hope with water near us” said Regina Ibrahim Kaikungu sand dam umbrella chairperson. The drought situation presents a livelihood challenge to most women and children in the area. “With water, we can plant our sukuma (kales) and stop begging” said Regina, with optimism.

The community participates actively in other government projects in what is commonly referred to as ‘food for work’ though the government relief is not sufficient to their needs, it contributes into changing the community once infected with deadly ‘dependency syndrome’ to relief supplies. Kaikungu health centre and Nzauni health centre are living evidence of a community hard work. Though the women are dedicated in breaking the drought chain, poverty threatens to reverse those gains.

Crop failure and high prices of fertilizers have compounded the drought situation in Kitui and larger Ukambani areas of Eastern province. Logging of trees, for charcoal and draining sand from rivers have all contributed to the drought in the area. “lets plant trees after the completion of sand dam” urged Mary Obiero Church World Service Socio Economic Development Programs Coordinator .

ACT International member Church World Service through the local partners Anglican Church or Kenya, Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church distributed food relief to the residents of Kaikungu and visited new sand dam construction accompanied with CROP walkers team involved in fundraising in the US.

Siren over drought situation.

Drought situation in Kenya is worsening and the president has a few hours ago declared the drought a national disaster. In his speech the president blamed the drought on failure of short rains, effects of the post-election violence which affected the planting season, global energy crisis which has fueled high prices of fertilizers and global food crisis which has incapacitated thousands to afford food prices.

The president noted that drought situation had resulted in shortfall of 10 million bags resulting in further reduction of National grain reserves by 3.3million bags.

While underlining the impact of global food crisis, the president noted that 'staple foods of most Kenyans have risen sharply in one year...affecting the poorest'.

He lamented that 10 million Kenyans face starvation and urgently need emergency support and made an appeal while emphasizing that 'between now and August 2009 people will not be able to meet minimum food requirements'.

'my government will not tolerate the actions of unscrupulous traders sacrificing people livelihood at altar of private gain of few people' said the president in his concluding warning to business cartels manipulating food chain in Kenya.

Kenya has been facing series of crisis one after the other. Its only in December 2007 after the disputed general election that violence broke out killing 1,200 people and displacing more than 300,000 people. Kenya also records the a wider gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. In almost all crisis, its women and children who suffer most the consequences of delayed mitigation.

My recent visit to drought stricken areas of Ukambani, Makindu, Kutui (all in the eastern parts of Kenya) left me wondering how delayed actions can quickly trigger emergency. women travel 10 kilometers every morning to fetch water. such lone journey(s) demand that they rise-up as early as 3am or 4am in lucky cases if they expect to have their children eat breakfast before school. One woman narrated to me how she was raped by a gang of men while on such trips; ruining her life and infecting her with the deadly HIV virus.

Provision of water for all would avert GBV and ensure irrigation in dry areas prone to drought. Crop failure will be a thing of the past and human suffering buried in the 'forgotten grave'.

Call to an African Day of Prayer and Fasting for Zimbabwe on January 25, 2009


The 9th General Assembly held in Maputo, Mozambique in December 2008 gave the African churches a strong mandate to continue their longstanding accompaniment of the Church and people of Zimbabwe. The Assembly declared January 25th an African Day of prayer for Zimbabwe. The call is to join our Zimbabwean sisters and brothers in prayer and in fasting, in words and in deeds, in contemplation and in action.

As AACC we therefore call on all our member churches, councils, fellowships and institutions; all friends in the ecumenical worldwide family; all our international partners and all people of good will to make January 25, 2009, an African Day of Prayer and Fasting for Zimbabwe.

Trumpet call to Pray and Fast
“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet” Isaiah 58:1

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cord of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here I am.” Isaiah 58:6-9.

Calling for a Special Day of Prayer and Fasting for Zimbabwe is first and foremost a call for all of us to come to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ with a humble heart, in sincere love, spending time with him to get in tune with His sovereign plans and visions for his people and for the world. It’s about allowing Him to speak and to share His heart that bleeds for the suffering of our world. It’s about allowing Him to convince us to be part of his plan and be willing to act as instruments for his Kingdom - a kingdom of fellowship, peace, justice and reconciliation for anyone who respond to the invitation by Jesus: Come unto me!


Indeed it is a time of need for Zimbabwe
• The cholera epidemic continues to spread. 37,000 have contracted the disease and 1,800 have died (Jan 12). The health system has broken down.
• There is shortage of food.
• The schools have not been able to run properly due to the financial and social crisis.
• Political violence and intimidation continues.
• The power-sharing deal of September 15, 2008 has not been honoured and talks have stalled due to lack of sincerity and political will.
• Official inflation (July 08) was 231 million % but continues to rise by the day. The newly issued 50$bn bill only buys the owner a few loafs of bread.
• The numbers of political, social and economic refugees crossing the borders to the neighbouring countries are increasing continuously.

In all this the AACC acknowledges that the present crisis primarily is a crisis of legitimacy and governance. As stated by the 9th AACC General Assembly in Maputo on December 11, the present rule must be considered as illegitimate as it was an incomplete reflection of the will of the Zimbabwean people, given that the presidential run-off election in June 2008 was not free and fair and was marred by intimidation and political violence. The Zimbabwean people have also continuously been denied the peace, justice and socio-economic remedy they have for so long desired.

May the Lord grant Zimbabwe light to break forth like the dawn and healing to quickly appear. May the Lord bless us all as we Pray, Fast for the end to the political crisis and resumption of normalcy in the lives of the people of Zimbabwe.

T-shirts made for 2008 World AIDS Day commemoration

Africa Churches struggling to break the silence on HIV and AIDS

Maputo 5th December, 2008- ‘women are cultured not to speak on issues affecting them in the society’ this were remarks made today at a pre-Assembly meeting convened by the Ecumenical HIV AIDS initiative in Africa (EHAIA). HIV and AIDS is one of the nine themes at the 9th All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) Assembly scheduled to open on 7th December through to 12th December, 2008 in Maputo, Mozambique.

‘We see people die in Churches because they don’t have the courage to disclose their status’- said one participant at the meeting. Dr Nyambura Njoroge the continental co-ordinator for EHAIA an ecumenical body that co-ordinates Churches HIV and AIDS response in Africa said- ‘we are afraid to discuss sexuality related issues in the church, fear that such discussion may expose our sexual life’. She added that despite HIV being around for several years; ‘sexuality remains a taboo in Africa churches’.

The PLWHAs lamented that ‘church leaders normally close church doors from PLWHA’s thus shutting discussions on HIV and AIDS instead making it a taboo’.

EHAIA participants deliberate in one of the pre-Assembly meeting on HIV and AIDS. Photo 2008 @ G.Arende





Dr. Nyambura was optimistic that the African churches had the potential and capacity to break the silence on HIV and AIDS. ‘The church needs to discover new ways of discussing sexuality, the top church leadership are key in helping us break the silence’- she emphasized.

Cathedral D Xavier Boca Matolorio in Mozambique a member of AACC is one such churches in Maputo endeavoring to met demands of one hundred and sixty children orphaned by HIV and AIDS. Centre established in 1995 provides hope for children whose parents succumbed to the HIV virus. Bishop Benedito Ndzavo of D Xavier Boca church stressed ‘it is a duty of the church to provide for orphans’. He added that the HIV and AIDS silence prevents the church from its prophetic mission.

Am in Maputo attending the AACC General Assembly. before arriving here we had a connecting flight through Jo'Berg. George had ignored the need to change our Kenya currency into either Rand or Dollars for use while in Maputo. Partly this was my perception that Kenya being a 'Financial hub' in East Africa it would be pretty easy to access any forex exchange bureau and change into preferred currency of my choise.

In South Africa where i had high hopes it was not possible to so i kept my hopes alive while trying to be positive and optimistic. I watched cute lovely and must have souvenirs but unfortunately had only to store them in my memory via my salivating Retina.

In Maputo this were not better coz it was the same story- 'we dont exchange kenya currency'.

Still refusing to be negative and staying put on positive thinking as advised by famous author Ben Carson in his Think BIG book; i commenced search for an international bank. what was in my mind was Barclays (which i dont bank with owing to the historic formation linked to slavery) but as this time i felt like a slave so had no option. My bank standard chartered was the second resort owing to its scarcity in major Africa cities.

wallah..... was my exclamation phrase when i sighted a Barclays. little did i know that it wont process my card for the now precious Meticar the Mozambique currency.

Here i was wondering what next being a country with my currency which wasnt authentic

TOUGH CHOICES ON KENYA ROADS- TO BRIBE OR NOT TO BRIBE

Wednesday 18th November was a bright day like any other, the sun was out, Nairobians were rushing to their places of work to cement and be assuranced of a meal for their families. For me this was to be a promising day- I woke-up earlier than usual hoping to beat the long snail traffic evident on our roads every morning.

I had deadlines to meet and reports to submit to our partners; in precise it promised to be a busier day than any other. On my way to the office (which is opposite traffic flow) I drove moderately quick, since i left earlier before the peak hours.

While approaching Outering road which I often use, i had to wait for a record twenty minutes without securing a line into the main road. Having been patient enough I opted to plead with other motorists to allow me access to the main road. To retain the juicy part of the experience- the traffic policeman approached from the rear widow and asked me for my drivers license, which I issued without hesitation.

‘park the car aside and hand over the keys (to me)’- were the next words I heard from him. Still in shock,mainly resulted from the information vacuum and lack of details for whatever mistake offence i had committed; I obliged and as any law abiding citizen stepped out and as instructed earlier,handed over the car keys. Still in shock on what was going on.. I heard the commanding voice once more directing me to enter the awaiting police vehicle (which later I came to know is called ‘Sanduku’- box in Swahili language). While in the van I recalled accent memories of matatus we used down our rural village. We used to sit facing each other as clients in a hospital patiently waiting to consult a doctor. Gender concerns were no excuse to the police who bundled both into now-full van.

As we set off (i quickly flushed into memories of the post-election violence when it was a common occurrence to be bundled into police car), i noticed through the window my car being towed off without my consent. At this stage I was boiling-up slowly like a volcano awaiting eruption. Meanwhile experiences were being shared inside the van by the ‘well informed’ touts who also made up the largest number of those arrested.

One tout who used that route frequently was confident about what he termed ‘procedure’. He went on to narrate to me how he had parted with four hundred shilling a split second earlier. ‘I had been arrested (by a junior officer) for over-taking but quickly gave four hundred for my release’- he said. He added- ‘but few meters away was arrested by his senior and charged with expired TLB’. Here I was in total disbelief and numb. As part of reciprocal conversation I narrated my story and he asked me ‘why didn’t you bribe?’. My simple answer was I cant bribe let me be arraigned to court….he laughed and wondered how barbaric and uninformed I was. As the conversation heated up; he posed a question which lingered in my mind the whole day. ‘Do you think you can finish corruption in Kenya alone?’ he went on to say- ‘we don’t pay bribe because we have a lot of money…we do it to save time and frustration from our system’.

Each gave their storyline seeking attention and sympathy from those inside the police van.

Within few minutes we were on the last junction towards the police station (a place I have dreaded my entire life). At the station we were registered and quickly taken to the cell and locked in. At this point, my entire thinking faculty was off and not functioning normally. My alleged mistake was petty (traffic offence) but here we were mixed with criminals, burglars and all sorts of people associated with crime. As time was ticking off, I wondered aloud why the police force lacked think-tanks and officers with voice of reason. Being a Wednesday and more so a working day I was meant to be in the office but maybe not due to corrupt people and slow system. I wondered why confine one for six hours with something resolvable at the arrest scene? Why the policemen at the station were so rude to a citizen whom they expect help from in the community policing initiative?

While still at the station shoddy deals were evident with police officers streaming into the cell to get a ‘catch’. One by one, those with ability to cough-out something from their pockets were released while others remain in the cell. A conversation with matatu touts revealed that the long wait at the station before being arraigned in court was a ‘grace period’- a time to make those important calls for 911 rescue teams. Relatives, friends or colleagues who would intercede on our behalf to be freed.

After two hours of wait at the cell we left for the Makadara law court. Place that will take miracles to erase from my memories. The cells were dirty, dusty, crowded and had unpleasant oduor emanating from the toilets which may have blocked a year or so ago and went ignored. The smell at the cell and the corridors left me wondering how possible on earth the police officers were able to work in comfort just 3 meters from the toilet.

Later I concluded that this kind of working condition may have contributed to the brutality shown by the police force during the last year’s post-election violence.

The bitterness and time wasting during the entire lesson with the police triggered a serious reflection on what the tout had asked me that morning. The frustration, the kind of mis-handling and the experience of pain from the police would compel any Kenyan to bribe I silently thought. Bribing seemed cheaper way out based on my experience. What would have been the worse scenario- 1. Losing my job because of absconding. 2. Withholding any vital information from the police as a result of the fear and hostility I encountered. 3. Rethinking my position on bribing and the fight on corruption.

The delaying and frustrating system was fueling corruption in our police force. Loopholes in our Justice system facilitate corruption. Thesaurus dictionary uses words like- obstacle, barrier, impediment, hindrance, stumbling block, difficulty as words that can be used to replace obstruction. One cannot be charged for obstruction / obstructing traffic flow and be arraigned in court alone. There has to be witnesses obstructed, present in the court to justify/ testify how they were obstructed. But because of our system this is only possible in Kenya. A layman afraid of the police and their harassment will prefer to part with 1000 bob as bribe instead of 9,500 I ended up paying including 2,500 for towing a car which could move. The absence of the arresting officer in the court at the time of case makes it complicated and difficult for one to say no to cases.

The junior police officers, who in most cases interact with the public, need to be trained on PR to improve the dented image of the Kenya police force. Kenyans are willing to work with the police but something has to change in their operations and procedures.

AACC Christian Communicators Workshop
15-18 September 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya

Communiqué

Thirty-five Christian communicators from churches, church organizations, and councils of churches, from 16 countries, have met in Nairobi under the auspices of the AACC, to share insights, learnings, and challenges from our work, and to plan for our future ministries.

The 9th AACC General Assembly
We are enthused by the plans for the forthcoming 9th AACC General Assembly and commit ourselves to publicise the Assembly in our own countries. We will seek to engage our churches and the national media in the task of communicating the issues and significance of the Assembly.

The role of a communications department in our churches and organizations
Without communication, the work of any organization, church or council is like a lamp lit and put under a table. Often the communications function in our churches and councils has been relegated to a secondary role. It is communication however that drives the strategy of an organization. As communicators ourselves, we consider that the communications function requires the status of having a departmental head at managerial level, and that the function needs to be part of the planning, decision-making, and implementation of the church or organization. Moreover, developing a communications strategy is a key to the future of our organizations. Decision-makers must also budget properly for communications staff, equipment, website design, access to the net, maintenance, etc. To achieve this, one way is for all programmes to have a communications component incorporated within their plans and budgets.

The new ‘information age’
It is not just that many of our churches and councils have in the past tended to marginalize the role of communications. We are in a new ‘information age’. In this regard, we urge our leaders at council and denominational levels to recognize the critical importance of understanding the new media, so that we can communicate effectively to younger generations and new constituencies. To do this, we must value and update our communication strategies and make effective use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). This will require extra commitment of resources and personnel.

Relations with the mainstream media
Often we lament that the mainstream media ignores the churches and their communications offices. Frequently our bureaucracies are too slow in producing press releases or statements. We urge church leaders to make timely responses to queries and requests from their communication departments so as not to lose the media moment.

In our attempts to influence those in power and in order to build positive relations with the mainstream media, the importance of interpersonal communication is critical. Moreover, we need to engage with the secular media as responsible and indispensable partners in the ministry of our churches and councils. If we are to be successful in this, we need to focus our media messages not as issues of relevance to the church only, but rather as people-centred.

Our commitment
As Christian communicators, we recognize that working in the communications sector is a vocation. Remembering that our loyalty is always to God, we commit ourselves to pursuing justice, truth, and fairness in our work. We are called to engage all people with ministries of the gospel, regardless of gender, social or educational status, regardless of ethnicity or faith, or of physical ability or disability. In particular, we commit ourselves to developing a strategy of listening to the voices of the voiceless. We will communicate their stories and claims to the rest of society and especially to the powerful in order to transform situations and structures of poverty and injustice.



Recommendations to the AACC

We urge the Conference to:
• Seek ways to facilitate the awareness-raising of church and council leaders on the critical importance of developing and updating communication strategies (especially with regard to the new media - ICT) in the implementation of church and church-related programmes.
• Work with other agencies to identify, make available, and increase opportunities for training in communications.
• Work with other continental and global organizations to build a network to support and advocate for the rights of journalists who are arrested or treated unjustly as a result of reporting the truth.

We are grateful to the AACC for having brought us together during these two days to learn from one another. We are committed to building on this experience, and to creating a continental network for Christian communicators. We request the AACC Communications Department to facilitate this.

Africa Christian communicator’s workshop begins in Nairobi, Kenya


16th September, 2008 Nairobi, Kenya- ‘stand-up against the communication challenges of time, to remain relevant’- was the message from Mr. Bright Mawuodor Finance Director at the AACC at the opening of the Christian communicator’s workshop in Nairobi.

He lamented that- ‘the church is crying for Christian Communicators who wont report on past events’. The workshop brings together participants from 15 countries to Nairobi under auspice of All African Council of Churches to share learn and develop ways of addressing challenges facing Christian communicators in Africa.

In his opening devotion Dr. Lobule reflecting from Mathew 12:12 said-‘we need to reconcile diversity in ecumenical messages’. He went further to say that the biblical text touches all humanity irrespective of Nationality, race, culture. Adding that one part of the body in Christ cannot discard another. He urged communicators to be focused on co-operation to enhance unity within the ecumenical circles.

Dr. Lobule concluded by emphasizing the importance of communicators working together since we are all different but need each other.

Mrs. Mbare Kioni -AACC director for Communication, Advocacy and Research reminded the participants-‘global communication trend calls for new approach for communicating ecumenical stories’. Noting that appropriate communication is vital in communicating within our churches.

AACC Assembly starts in Maputo, Mozambique from 7-12 December, 2008 under the theme : Africa, step forth in Faith’.

Beautiful Wooden sculpture at a mexican museum

picture of stone age man being eaten by a tiger

amazing image... guess what it is?

picture with Prof Miriam Were chairperson Kenya National AIDS Control Council Yuko Takenaka Chief Advisor JICA, at the AIDS conference in Mexico. also in the pix is Girmay Haile UNAIDS Kenya Country representative

Raped while young and infected with HIV
“I had no choice, he had sex with me,” laments Herlyn Auiras, a survivor of abduction and three rape ordeals. At 16, Auiras together with her friend were abducted and smuggled into South Africa.

The drama began innocently enough when Auiras and a friend planned to attend a concert in Windhoek City under the pretext of visiting the friend’s grandfather. Money being a challenge, the two girls accepted a ride from a couple of Namibia truck drivers.

The drivers, originally from South Africa, assured Auiras and her friend that they would bring them back to Namibia on the return trip. “At the immigration checkpoint they covered us with blankets and passed the border into South Africa,” recalls Auiras.

“At Jo’burg, one of the drivers wanted to have sex with me. He threatened to hurt me if I didn’t give in,” she remembers.

Auiras begged the driver to wear a condom. Although he reluctantly agreed, the condom broke during the rape. He warned Aurias against going to the police noting that she was in South Africa illegally.

The two young women existed for several days without food or a place to sleep. “Any time we asked to go home, he said next week!’

Finally able to escape the truck drivers’ grasp, Aurias and her friend met someone who appeared to be a Good Samaritan. The man offered to find them accommodations in a friend’s house. As it turns out, they were lured into a trap by the very man they supposed would save them.

As days went on, Aurias experienced urinal pains and virginal discharge. “I never knew it was a sexually transmitted infection.”

They had no choice but to comply with the demands of their host, including attending nightclubs with the man. One night at a club, the man tried to force Aurias to have sex with him. When she declined, “he beat me with a wooden bar.” She escaped with only her clothes, but soon realized she had no choice but to go back to the house.

Soon she became so ill that her “host” had to take her to the hospital. While there she was diagnosed with HIV. “When the doctor said I had AIDS I wanted to commit suicide,” she remembers. Because of the illness, the man no longer wanted her in his home and eventually the young woman made her way back to Namibia with the help of police.

With treatment Aurias began to feel better. Even still, it took her a year and a half to disclose her status to her parents.

In time, Aurias found the Wawis Buy multi-purpose centre in Namibia. The people there helped transform her life by welcoming her and training her in counseling and palliative care.

Recognizing that her story could have had a horrific ending, Aurias is grateful to be alive and able to help other young women. Today she is the ambassador of Hope for Churches United Against HIV and AIDS (CUAHA). Advocating in churches on human trafficking, sexual abuse and all forms of human rights abuse, Aurias’ powerful story serves as both a warning to and an example for youth.

Her advice to young people is very straightforward: “We have the power to make choices after first weighing consequences.”

The United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) estimates that some 1.2 million children are trafficked worldwide every year.

Supporting orphans presents challenges, opportunities
By George Arende

“Rising numbers of orphans and vulnerable children [OVC] remains a huge challenge, that requires innovation and dedication to overcome,” said Caroline Thuo, program coordinator for orphans and vulnerable children for Giving HOPE

The statistics demonstrate the truth in Thuo’s statement. The past three decades have seen an explosion in numbers of orphans and vulnerable children in sub-Saharan Africa with the UN estimating that there are 12 million children in Africa orphaned by AIDS. The report further says that 2 million OVCs live in Kenya alone.

These young people left to fend for themselves. “Most of the children are forced to become heads of families,”laments Caroline. Some as young as 12-years-old are tasked with caring and providing for their younger siblings.

“Community has more burden to care for those with HIV and AIDS, TB, and malaria,” she said, adding “responsibility of molding [the children’s lives] doesn’t function owing to such challenges.” Thuo is also focused on young people living in slums. “They are traumatized and need counseling. They are faced with so much pressure,” Thus said.

Giving Hope is a program operating in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, serving 8,309 households, accounting for 27,990 children. The program fosters independence by empowering children and young people whose lives have been derailed by poverty and disease to gain control and become productive. This is done by developing the skills and talents of the children.

The program also provides a support system and a resource database for economic and social knowledge advancement.

Thuo is happy working with children terming them ‘potential for the future’. Through her program Church World Service helps children utilize the best in their surrounding and become responsible and productive members of the society.

ANERELA, the compassion Umbrella for Clergy and all living with HIV

Mexico 2nd August, 2008: It was difficult for Gracia Violeta founder of first Bolivian organization for People Living with HIV to disclose her status. A rape survivor, Gracia struggled to come to terms with her diagnosis and disclose to her family and friends. She comes from a religious family -- her father is an evangelical Christian pastor. It took years for her to tell her congregation.

Four years ago she knew about ANERELA which helped her to disclose her status. ‘ANERELA is an opportunity for the world to learn from Africa’- she said at the launch of International Network of Religious Leaders Living with or personally affected by HIV and AIDS (INERELA) at the Ecumenical Pre-conference in Mexico City.

INERELA is a global expansion of its sister network, Africa Network of Religious Leaders Living with or personally affected by HIV and AIDS (ANERELA) which was launched in 2003. INERELA a network operating jointly with ANERELA is a network of religious leaders both lay and ordained, women and men living with or affected by HIV and AIDS.


Regional representative from all continents light from one candle (symbolizing ANERELA) and representing the launch of INERELA. Picture G. Arende

HIV cases show no sign of abating and remain grossly stigmatizing even after twenty-five years of research and existence of the virus. In 2003 only a few courageous but isolated religious leaders in Africa lived openly with HIV, no network existed. Living with HIV was- as is too often still is- a lonely business. Today ANERELA has 3,500 members in five continents.

Programs Director for World Conference of Religions for Peace Mr. James Cairns noted that- ‘Even with stigma and unconstructive leadership, through ANERELA we have had leaders who accompany people living with HIV and AIDS’. Sentiments echoed by Dr. Manoj Kurian executive for health and healing at the World Council of Churches who said –‘ANERELA has provided a platform for engagement’ terming the organization ‘precious resource’.

Living to its mission - of equipping, empowering and engaging religious leaders, and being the agents of hope and change beyond faith; ANERELA has helped people of Islamic faith to talk about HIV and AIDS. ‘the greatest- are human beings who provide shoulder for other people to lean on’- said Cassiem Khan Islamic relief South African referring to support to unearth HIV and AIDS in Islam faith.

Rev. Christo Greyling ANERELA board chairperson indicated his delight in being involved with the launch of INERELA. He said- ‘We want to lift up what ANERELA has achieved; by focusing and broadening what we have learnt’ and Committed the organization-‘to be good stewards of the family’ in overcoming stigma, silence on HIV and AIDS.

‘Faith and AIDS is not like oil and water’-said Gracia informing that ‘people of faith also had AIDS’.

Linda Hartke Co-ordinator-Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance one of INERELA and ANERELA partners said- ‘We need to engage and create support to celebrate and encourage faith communities in responding to HIV and AIDS’.

By
George Arende

Lutheran Relief Efforts Continue in Kenya Following Election


CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church (KELC), Nairobi, a companion church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), has made efforts to support people affected by violence since the Dec. 27 presidential election there.
George Arende, communications director, KELC, has taken part in KELC relief efforts. He said the violence erupted when people suspected the election was rigged in favor of incumbent candidate Mwai Kibaki. People were looting, stealing, burning properties and killing, Arende said. "They were agitating for justice. They were agitating for good governance and just a process that was transparent and acceptable to them," he said.
ELCA International Disaster Response sent $10,000 to the KELC for its initial emergency response in affected communities in Kenya, according to the ELCA Disaster Response Web site. It sent another $15,000 to Church World Service which, together with Norwegian Church Aid, is helping to facilitate the worldwide response of Action by Churches Together (ACT). Arende said the money "helped (the KELC) to swing into operation."
The ELCA participates in the work of Church World Service. ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergency situations worldwide. It is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Geneva. The ELCA is a member of the WCC and LWF.
The KELC helped to establish three camps for Kenyans displaced from their homes -- two in the Mathare area and one in the Kiambiyu area, Arende said. These impoverished areas were the focus of the violence in Nairobi, he said. The KELC distributed food, mosquito nets and such non-food items as soap and sanitary towels. "Our role was to fill in the gaps of other humanitarian organizations on the ground," Arende said.
Now that months have passed, Arende said the Kenyan government is urging people living in the camps to return to their homes. But the low supply of food is keeping Kenyans from returning home. "The current situation is still volatile, but it's kind of silent," Arende said. "The government is on one side urging people to return to their homes, and these people who are living in the camps moved from their homes because they lost some of their brothers and sisters and some of their neighbors who were hacked to death, their property destroyed, houses razed down."
"We have one group saying that justice has to prevail and the other group insisting that amnesty be given as a process for peace building," Arende said. "If they return, the memories will continue haunting them. They cannot leave harmoniously, whatever the case."
Arende said promises from the government to compensate people living in camps are causing residents to hold out with the hope of being paid. He said the government does not have the resources for compensation. "They (the people) are still in the camps because they perceive that, if they leave the camps, their stories will be finished, nobody will think about them," Arende said. "The government itself is focusing on other priorities and doesn't have money to give them, so it's a back-and-forth scenario."
Bringing relief efforts to these areas was often met with hostility, according to Arende. He said volunteers with the Red Cross were attacked by "marauding youth, who had crude weapons, such as machetes."
"They were not allowing police to come in. They were not allowing the Red Cross to come in," Arende said, "but I don't know what happened that they allowed us to come in."
"For me the risk level is high, but on the other side it's rewarding when you see the joy in people's eyes. That's what keeps me going," Arende said. "We cannot provide everything, but dividing the effort and multiplying the effect I think you can have an impact on people's lives."

HIV Travel Restrictions Pose Barriers to Addressing Global Issue

“Travel restrictions that have been imposed on me by some countries because of my HIV status have put a label on me as someone not acceptable to some countries or other people and as such, have made me a prisoner in my country of South Africa,” said Rev. Christo Greyling in an interview at the Ecumenical Pre-Conference on AIDS, “Faith in Action Now!”
Six decades after the Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, over 70 countries still hold HIV-specific travel restriction and 12 countries among them have a total ban on HIV positive persons entering their countries for any reason or length of time. Language in the $48 billion AIDS relief package signed into law by President George W. Bush this week indicates that the United States may be positioned to soon lift, or at least re-evaluate, its travel restrictions against people living with HIV and AIDS. Until this process winds its way through governmental departments, the same U.S. restrictions apply today as when the ban was instituted over 20 years ago.
Rev Greyling, who is the chairperson of the African Network of Religious Leaders Living With or Personally Affected by HIV and AIDS (ANERELA) and also the advisor to World Vision International on HIV and AIDS, has been prevented from entering the U.S., Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines and other countries.
Despite the fact that he is on medication and his viral load is undetectable, Rev. Greyling is being prevented from doing his work: namely, fighting HIV-related stigma and raising awareness in order to stop the spread of HIV. Whenever possible, he avoids disclosing his HIV status, but says this is in conflict with his Christian beliefs toward being honest. He also finds it ironic that many countries that impose travel bans are staunch advocates for human rights. “This is an absolute disgrace that discrepancy can be allowed where countries that stand for justice and for human rights are not practicing it,” he said.
While legislation restricting travel for HIV positive persons is challenging to individuals—for instance, it separates families, prevents involvement in policymaking discussions, and, because of the fear of having one’s status disclosed, causes some to travel without prescribed medications—it also poses significant barriers for communities, regions, and countries impacted by HIV and AIDS.
According to John F. Galbraith, president and CEO of CMMB (Catholic Medical Mission Board), travel restrictions stand in the way of successfully addressing HIV prevention and treatment on a global scale. “There are countries who could benefit greatly from the work of faith-based organizations in addressing the spread of HIV. But in order for an NGO to provide services in travel restricting countries, it means that every doctor and nurse, every clinician and technician, every volunteer would have to be HIV-negative.”
Galbraith said that not only is this not practical, it defies conventional wisdom and best practices in stemming the spread of HIV. “There is tremendous value in empowering persons living with HIV to provide education and services to people who are at-risk or who are also living with HIV. To deny a dedicated, interested person the opportunity to serve others diminishes the dignity and value of the individual,” he said.
The United Nation’s Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, in a recent UN General Assembly session, urged a “change in laws that uphold stigma and discrimination, including restriction on travel for people living with HIV.” Still, people living with HIV and AIDS are banned from participating in, and even attending, the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The Chinese government lifted a similar ban on visitors with leprosy but remain adamant that the ban remain in effect on people living with HIV and AIDS.
Despite the challenges, Rev. Greyling remains encouraged by countries that have or are considering dropping their travel restrictions. He acknowledges there is yet much to be done and insists that “the Church and other faith based organizations have a big role in providing prophetic voice against discrimination and working to end these unfair restrictions.”

Stigmatized but determined to overcome
By George Arende


“My community branded me a killer.” These are the words Sellah Akinyi Opiyo uses to illustrate the magnitude of her struggle as she tried to overcome profound stigma following her husband and her co-wife‘s deaths in 1996.

Opiyo has lived with HIV for more than 12 years. As medication has helped to transform her life, she is become determined to overcome the challenges that face many people living with HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In the last six years, the number of people on AIDS medication jumped by 10 times, from 300,000 in 2003 to about three million in 2007 according to the 2008 UNAIDS report.

Opiyo is a 46-year-old Kenyan pre-school teacher in the western lakeside City of Kisumu. She has three children of her own and three more inherited from her deceased co-wife. “My husband and co-wife died without testing for HIV,” laments Opiyo even as she recognizes that millions of people in rural Kenya then had very limited information on HIV and AIDS.

“My husband’s death was a motivation to being tested,” she said. But the fear and courage to make the step was a daunting task. Opiyo said “I forged my name three times, all the results were positive.”

Opiyo was stunned by the HIV-positive diagnosis. ‘I was very healthy, the news traumatized me. I spent my last coin for herbal medication.”

She started on antiretroviral therapy in 2003. “When I received the ARV medication I knew I had my life in my hands,” Opiyo explained. “In one month I increased my body weight by ten kgs.”

More surprises awaited Opiyo. After losing her job because of her HIV status, she was warned by a church pastor to stay at home not to step foot in the church compound.

Somehow, Opiyo relied on her inner strength. “I still was motivated to call on widows and talk to them about life issues like HIV and AIDS.” Ignoring warnings from her pastor, she shared her HIV status with other church members. As a result, five women within her congregation approached her to confide there HIV status.

This further motivated Opiyo. Today she is the chairperson of the KIMEO PLWHA group, a support group of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya, whose mission is to reduce transmission and impact of HIV and AIDS by supporting members in psycho-social and economic means. KIMEO PLWHA serves more than 200 members in 14 distinct groups with the primary focus of giving hope to People Living with HIV and AIDS.
Given Opiyo’s own demonstrated determination—and profound hope—she is clearly qualified for this position. Her experience in overcoming stigmatization serves as a model for others. Today she serves as a powerful example of what it means to live with HIV.