October 2002
It has been twenty years since we first learned about a strange new disease—HIV/AIDS. No plague in the history of mankind has been as devastating. With infection rates running higher than expected, the next 20 years of the AIDS epidemic will be far worse unless there is a marked increase in prevention and treatment, according to the United Nations.
The epidemic continues to spread in almost every part of the world. It is estimated that half of all those newly infected are from ages 15 to 24. Almost 12 million young people are now living with HIV, and about 6,000 more are infected every day. Fourteen million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS. In some countries, up to half of new mothers could die from the disease.
The challenge is overwhelming. But with your help we have tried to do something to alleviate this crisis by supporting a number of Christian ministries around the world who are serving people affected by HIV/AIDS and making a difference.
Mashiah Foundation—Jos, Nigeria
A year ago an orphanage was a dream. Today it is a reality. Mashiah also runs a free medical clinic for HIV/AIDS victims and their children, provides daily counseling for victims living with the disease, and provides loans to widows for small businesses so they can support their families.
House of Refuge, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
This ministry provides a home for newborns and children up to the age of 12 who have HIV/AIDS. Most of them come from the slums of Brazil or have been street children. The House of Refuge tries to reintegrate the children into their families, usually with grandparents or aunts and uncles, because in most cases the parents have already died. When a family is not willing or able to receive the child back, they try to find families to adopt the children.
Welcome Home Children’s Center, Uganda
Welcome Home cares for abandoned, malnourished, premature, aborted, and orphaned newborns. At present they have 60-70 babies ranging from newborn to 3 years of age. These are children no one wants—babies placed in plastic bags and thrown into the sewer; babies left in dumpsters; and others born in pit latrines. The abandoned babies come as small as 1.6 pounds. Many are born HIV positive.
Le Bergerie Compassion, Burkina Faso
Concerned about the poor treatment given to people suffering from HIV/AIDS in the local hospitals, Wendtoin Ouedrago and other Christian medical personnel began a ministry to care for them. They provide counseling, food, and medical assistance for people affected by HIV/AIDS, including 192 widows and 325 orphans.
African Christian Homes and Rehabilitation Center—Ghana
Kofi Boateng is a young pastor who has committed everything he has to assist people affected by HIV/AIDS. In order to get prostitutes off the streets, he provides counseling and job training. He is presently building a rehabilitation center to house orphans and others who need to be cared for and trained in job skills.
Care Corner Orphanage—Thailand
Care Corner Orphanage was begun by Ricky Tan, a graduate of Bethany College of Missions. It began with twenty-eight children and is expanding fast among children who come from families devastated by drug addiction or AIDS. The orphanage also provides shelter for girls who would otherwise be lured into prostitution. Eighty-eight children are housed at the orphanage, and many more are on the waiting list.
Mahyeno Tributary—South Africa
Terry and Martin Vorster are a white couple who live and work in the poor black township of Mamelodi. They and their fellow workers care for AIDS sufferers in their homes and for orphans whose parents have died of AIDS. They focus on the poorest of the poor who have been rejected and isolated by their families. They care for 63 orphans, orphans-to-be, and needy children on a daily basis.
"Twenty years into the AIDS epidemic, 40 million people are living with HIV, 25 million have died, and if we continue with the current low level of response in many countries, we can be sure that in the next 20 years that close to 70 million people will die because of AIDS."
-Dr. Peter Piot, Director of the Joint U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS
