We want to make using this session a pleasure. So we’ve divided it into easy-to-use sections.
In Low-down and statistics discover an invisible but deadly ‘thief’ – and your part in stopping it. Inform and engage your group about this massive challenge.
Real Lives introduces Lawrence, 15, star of our new film, who has stronger shoulders than me – and possibly you. Christian faith and HIV is what we explore in The Word. Use the discussion points to steer the study.
And what are the options if your group wants to do something about all this? Be inspired as you read about our innovative Front room Fund-raiser in the final section.
The session should take about an hour – half for the background and half for discussion, prayer and planning your action. But that’s just a guideline. Mould it to fit your context. And let God speak to you through it...
The low-down and statistics
AIDS is a global tragedy – and it’s our global tragedy. Today, twice as many people in the UK are living with HIV compared to 12 months ago while globally 33 million people are infected with the HIV virus. Around 25 million people have lost their lives to AIDS. It devastates livelihoods, communities and economies. It orphans millions of children. It doesn’t care what age, gender or race you are. So what is it exactly? And what can we do?
In 1981 the first case of HIV was reported and doctors hoped it was an isolated case. Today, 26 years and 25 million lives later, the news is unexpected. Believe it or not, the spread of HIV can be stopped. We stand at a pivotal point in recent history; the AIDS pandemic has claimed millions of lives, yet the glimmer of hope grows stronger day by day. Can the church rise to the challenge?
‘In June of 1981 we saw a young gay man with the most devastating immune deficiency we had ever seen. We said, “we don’t know what this is, but we hope we don’t see another case like it again.” ’ Dr Samuel Border’s shock at the affects of HIV has not lessened. In fact, it has spread. Like the HIV virus itself a collective sense of alarm has settled over the entire globe. A quarter of a century ago the nightmare became a reality.
Suddenly the world was gripped by the fear of a hidden killer, a silent thief whose power was mighty yet whose trail was invisible. HIV and AIDS entered our vocabulary and with it came a thousand scare stories and urban myths. Everything from toilet seats to communion cups were treated with suspicion as people wondered just how safe they were from this desperate killer.
The statistics about HIV are mind-blowing. Not only are the casualty figures expressed in eight-digit figures, but the sums of money needed to reverse the devastation are astronomical. While it is shocking, there is another truth about HIV which is gathering volume. Listen carefully and the whisper is gradually becoming a shout: AIDS is a problem with a solution. It is a killer on the verge of being reined in, one day to be defeated.
The 2006 UNAIDS Report claimed that the global epidemic appears overall to be slowing down, while certain countries are seeing infections increasing. Progress, however, is not always straightforward, with some countries scoring victories with their treatments, but doing poorly when it comes to HIV prevention, and vice versa. These are critical times. The UNAIDS Report explains that: ‘the actions we take from here are particularly important, as we know with increasing certainty where and how HIV is moving, as well as how to slow the epidemic and reduce its impact.’ Hear AIDS and you think adult. Not so, says the report : ‘For too long, children have often been the missing face of the AIDS pandemic.’
Today we know more about HIV, we know about transmission and infection and how to prevent the spread.We know the importance of our ABCs: abstinence, being faithful and using condoms. We know about the dangers of sharing needles and the risks of mother to child transfer of infection during childbirth. But in spite of all this knowledge, we find ourselves struggling. Nearly 33 million people are today living with HIV, with some countries in danger of seeing the steps forward made by agencies like Tearfund reversed as able-bodied adults are rendered weak and unable to provide. HIV has orphaned millions, dramatically increased the impact of poverty and hunger, and become a pandemic of epic proportions.
Forget notions of this being a developing world problem: HIV is no respecter of class or geography. Its influence is truly global.
In 2007 an estimated 2.5 million people were newly infected with HIV. An estimated 2.1 million people lost their lives to AIDS-related illness. According to UNAIDS 2 million children are infected with HIV, and more than 90 per cent of these are living in sub-Saharan Africa. ‘The only acceptable goal for the world is to stop and, ultimately, put an end to AIDS,’ says United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. ‘Only then will we… succeed in our efforts to build a humane, healthy and equitable world.’
There are signs that HIV is a problem with a solution. Currently in developing and transitional countries, 7.1 million people are in immediate need of life-saving AIDS drugs; of these, only 2.015 million (28%) are receiving them. This scandal makes the G8’s drive for universal access to ARVs by 2010 seem like a distant dream. If promises are to turn into reality then a massive effort is needed by those with power. Hard to believe though it is, around 15 million children alive today have been orphaned by AIDS. Harder still to grasp is that many of these children live in child-headed households. In other words, they play mum and dad. They run the show. In Rwanda there are 100,000 child-headed households, while in Swaziland as many as one in ten households are run by orphans.
While the figures are hazy, the connection between child-headed households and HIV is becoming increasingly clear. With such high infection rates – particularly across the African continent – in part it is simply a question of numbers: there are too many orphans and not enough adults to help them. And so begins a downward spiral. Without adult supervision the children are increasingly vulnerable. Without income they are often forced to choose daily survival over education. Without education and adult support, they can struggle to defend themselves in a system that is biased against them. Some child-headed households struggle to hold on to their parents’ property. Others face prejudice as doctors refuse to see them without an adult, or neighbours refuse to help them because of the stigma of HIV.
Yet the story doesn’t end here. Read on through this meeting guide and you will unearth tales of tragedy and triumph, of optimism in the midst of grief and – perhaps most importantly – the opportunity for you to bring change.
Some extra stats for the number crunchers among you!
• HIV is a massive global killer – claiming 2.1 million lives worldwide in 2007, and HIV newly infected a total of 2.5million.
• On average only 1 in 5 people needing treatment for HIV get it.
• In the poorest parts of the world – like sub-Saharan Africa – HIV is widespread. Two thirds of those living with HIV in the world are found in sub-Saharan Africa.
• According to UNAIDS there are 15 million children orphaned by AIDS.
• In Rwanda alone there are as many as 100,000 child-headed households.
• One in ten households in Swaziland is run by orphans.
HIV and AIDS – what’s the difference?
HIV and AIDS are not two separate diseases; rather they are different stages of the same condition. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is transmitted via blood, sexually or mother-to-child. HIV can be managed and lived with. HIV leads to the development of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) which is identified by the infections and diseases which take hold due to specific damage to the immune system caused by HIV. AIDS is a syndrome caused by the HIV.
Real Lives
For this section we would like you to show the HIV DVD. This DVD tells the powerful story of Lawrence. He’s 15 and loves football but unlike many teenagers in the UK, Lawrence is responsible for three other younger boys. Each day he’s responsible for collecting water and firewood, cleaning his home, cooking meals, finding work, walking to and from school.
This fantastic resource is available for free. You can watch and download it by clicking here.
The Word
Some Christians have not always had an easy time figuring out what to think about HIV. Some lifestyles, such as homosexuality and drug taking, make people highly vulnerable to infection. Yet many who suffer from the virus, such as women whose vulnerability is increased by their low status in some cultures, or children who contract HIV during birth, have no way of protecting themselves from infection. Others have no way of protecting themselves from the effects.
Jesus showed compassion to all he met, regardless of their status or background. Think about the episode in Luke 8:42-48 where Jesus heals the woman who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years. In Old Testament times, women were believed to be unclean at the time of their monthly bleeding and stayed away from the Temple during this period each month. According to the Law of Moses in Leviticus 15, the touch of the bleeding woman would make Jesus unclean. Like many HIV and AIDS sufferers today, the bleeding woman was probably shunned by her community, yet Jesus did not tell this woman off for touching him. Instead he blessed her, explaining to the crowd that her faith had healed her.
As we face up to our Christian responsibility to address HIV, the focus should not be on how someone contracted the disease, but on how we should show compassion to those who are suffering from all of the impacts, including those orphaned by this pandemic. HIV presents us with an opportunity to show tremendous love for people in great need. And, for those that don’t know Jesus yet, we can show love and compassion with the hope that they will be open to being transformed by Jesus.
Get your Bibles out and divide up the following verses between you:
James 1:27
Psalm 82:3
Genesis 21:17
John 14:18
2 Corinthians 6:18
Psalm 68:4-6
Matthew 18:5-6
Have the verses read out and talk about what they say about God’s perspective on the way we treat orphans, and then discuss the following questions:
• Why does God seem to care about orphans so much?
• Where does our responsibility towards them begin and end?
• If we can’t see them, should we consider child-headed households as ‘our’ problem?
• If it’s true that ‘God sets the lonely in families’, why, then, are there so many child- headed households in the world? Has God failed – or have we?
What Tearfund is doing
Tearfund’s vision is to stop and reverse HIV in the places where we work.Working through our local partners, the plan includes helping women get access to medicines and information that will prevent their babies being born with HIV. Other parts of our plan to stop HIV include caring for children whose parents have already died from AIDS-related illness, and supporting them as they raise siblings. We’re training volunteers to counsel and test people for HIV. And we’re helping the church to tackle taboos and dangerous cultural practices.
Here’s just a glimpse of what’s going on…
Tearfund partner Casa Filadelfia in Sao Paulo, Brazil, runs a drop-in centre for people affected by AIDS. The centre offers children, young people and their families, emotional, spiritual and social support. People can get healthcare advice, sexual health guidance, psychological support, careers guidance and legal advice. Casa Filadelfia also holds church services, runs Bible courses, and puts people in touch with local pastors and churches.
Similarly, in India, Tearfund partner the El Shaddai Resource Centre (ESRC) is providing care and rehabilitation to drug users and people with HIV in Manipur State where there are an estimated 20,000 HIV carriers. ESRC helps people get back into work by sponsoring training programmes. It also provides a clinic, and home-based care and education for people living with HIV and their families. ESRC has also mobilised a number of community groups including a mothers’ support group and a Bible study group. HIV may seem like an impossible problem, but by finding a way to support people suffering from its impact we are able to deal with the issue step by small step. All you have to do is get involved.
At the G8 summit in July 2005, the UK government led world leaders in committing to the rapid expansion of HIV prevention, treatment, care and support with a target of achieving universal access by 2010. This was one of the positive outcomes for the Make Poverty History campaign. While it is important to acknowledge the significant contribution and leadership of the UK government, it is vital that we ensure the promises made at the G8 summit are kept. As Tearfund, we’re calling the Church across the world to step up and stop HIV. Nearly 200 countries are aiming to stop HIV too, as part of the Millennium Development Goals designed to halve poverty by 2015. We believe the Church has a crucial role to play to make this vision happen for everyone.
Take Action - so what can you do about it all?
You can pray and you can help us out with the f word: fundraising. All from the comfort of your front room!
- £5 a month enables trained counsellors to support those orphaned by AIDS
- £7 a month can give another child the chance of an HIV-free start in life
- £17 a month could provide ongoing teaching in a group of churches that explores biblical perspectives on HIV prevention, care and support
Pray:
- That other rich nations would match the commitment shown by the UK government.
- For the global Church to rise to the challenge of tackling AIDS.
- For an end to the stigma associated with having HIV.
- For Christians to show compassion, regardless of how the disease was contracted.
- For Tearfund partners working around the world, as they seek to reverse the spread of AIDS in the areas that Tearfund works.
The F Word – Front Room Fundraising
Give your audience a breakdown of how the Front Room Fundraiser works, and you’ll probably want to tell them about your own plans in detail too. If you’re trying to get people to come along to your own front room fund-raiser then you might just want to start here – perhaps by selling tickets.
However, if you’re hoping that this session will spark some inspiration in others to do the same then you might want to have printed out some Activity Instruction Sheets ready to hand out, or have internet access linked to this site, so that people can have a look and start making their own plans.
If we can be of any help as you plan and run your event get in touch by clicking here.