World Relief HIV/AIDS “World Relief has taught us to love and accept those with HIV/AIDS.
In the past, many people in the churches had a bad attitude towards
those with AIDS. It was an unloving attitude. It did not speak of
compassion at all. But now that is changing; the Church is accepting
them and loving them.”– Pastor Sylvain Exantus, Haiti
World
Relief is at the forefront in the battle against AIDS. Our work has
been praised by First Lady Laura Bush who visited one of our partner
churches in Africa in 2005.
Our comprehensive strategy focuses
on mobilizing local churches at the grassroots level to effectively
educate about AIDS, teach abstinence and marital fidelity, model
Christian values, fight stigma, and care for those affected by AIDS.
An
important part of our effort centers on equipping and mobilizing local
congregations to look after orphans, widows and the vulnerable, as the
Bible commands. Our easy-to-follow Hope at Home manual gives
helpful advice to those caring for the sick at home. The pictographic
manual is so easy to use that children and adults who cannot read or
write can still effectively follow the visual directions.
We
believe the combination of pre-marital abstinence and marital fidelity
is the best way – God’s way – to prevent the spread of AIDS. World
Relief’s church-centered Mobilizing Youth for Life program
trains local “animators” to promote the biblical values of abstinence
and marital fidelity among youth in churches, schools and youth groups.
Youth
are invited to take the “purity pledge,” a commitment to abstinence and
fidelity, within a supportive framework of their peers. Our Christian
instructors emphasize it’s a voluntary commitment, with no pressure and
no strings attached.
So far, we have recorded tens of thousands
of these commitments in the core program countries of Rwanda,
Mozambique, Kenya and Haiti, resulting in significant behavioral
change. We aim to reach 1.8 million youth by 2009.
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