Global AIDS Fund
Contents
Report from John Blinn on AIDS Fund Trip To Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone Global AIDS Grants
by John Blinn
This summer I carried $3,000 from the Rocky Mountain Conference Global AIDS
Team on a trip to Sierra Leone looking for places where the money would assist
in addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis. Going with me on that trip from the Rocky
Mountain Conference were Hope and Les Law, leaders of the Operation Classroom
team; Paul Murphy-Geiss, pastor of the Evanston United Methodist Church in
Denver; and my wife, Elaine.
We eventually made three grants to groups in Sierra Leone, but the most powerful
element of the experience was the joy we experienced in sharing this critically
important resource. The connection with all three groups was a leading by the
Spirit of God.
Sierra Leone Methodist Conference: One morning on our way to breakfast we
noticed a sign on the front door of the Methodist Church in Makeni that announced
the first Children’s AIDS Workshop. Our interested was heightened. We
discovered that the local church (in cooperation with the Sierra Leone Methodist
Conference) was sponsoring a workshop on HIV/AIDS for children, aged 6 to 13.
After some lively singing we listened as instructors from the Sierra Leone
Conference led the children in a workshop that talked about the need to abstain
from sexual relations until they were adults, the need to protect themselves
if they became sexually active and ways to educate their parents and family
to the risks of HIV/AIDS. The conversation was very open and frank. The conference
believes that educating children before they engage in sexual relations is
the only way to stop the HIV/AIDS pandemic. While we only granted the local
congregation $100 we have built a relationship with the Methodist Conference
in Sierra Leone and hope to identify additional money to assist them in sharing
this workshop in every church in the conference.
FAWE: On a walk through Makeni we noticed a sign in front of a building that
housed the FAWE program (Forum for African Women Educationalists). We met Rhoda
Sesay, a very distinguished older African woman. She was beautifully dressed
and very articulate. She is on a mission. As the director for the Forum for
African Women Educationalists in Makeni, Sierra Leone, West Africa she runs
a program with 10 employees serving the needs of women in Sierra Leone. A training
program for young women who were captured and raped repeatedly by rebel troops
during the ten-year war (1992-2002) helps the women get skills and training.
A major component of their work is HIV/AIDS education.
On our last day in Makeni several members of our Work Team from the Rocky
Mountain Conference sat at a table in the office FAWE and heard Rhoda and three
members of her board talk about their work. They sang songs that were created
to help village people learn about HIV/AIDS. They talked about the personal
contacts with people who are exposed to HIV/AIDS. They excitedly talked about
the HIV/AIDS dramatizations they hold at football (soccer) games. Before the
games as the crowd has gathered they share skits about AIDS. At first they
could not get any men to participate in the dramatizations. They especially
had trouble getting any men to position the wooden penis that allows them to
demonstrate how to put a condom on. But they were so excited that now several
men are willing to help people understand how to avoid getting and spreading
HIV/AIDS.
After they were finished sharing their stories and songs, we told them we
had a grant of money to give them on behalf of the Rocky Mountain Conference
AIDS Task Force. They were surprised. As we counted out the $1,000 in one hundred
dollar bills, their eyes lit up. They began to sing songs of thanksgiving – “Thanks
Be to God”. They began to dance. Caught up in their spirit of joy we
joined them singing and dancing. As Rhoda signed the receipt for the money
the money was passed to the treasurer at the other end of the table and as
it went everyone touched the money and gave a blessing. We realized that the
gift we shared with them was far greater than we imagined. As we sang songs
of doxology and thanksgiving we sensed that the Spirit of God was going to
guide the use of this money.
CITA: We traveled one day to Kabala, known as the end of the road. The paved
road does, in fact, end in Kabala. We visited a clinic that is the vision of
Hope and Les Law and their adopted Sierra Leone daughter, Dorcas. We met Dorcas’s
brother, Peacemaker, and her sister, Finah. They are both trained in nursing.
The clinic was begun in the home of Dorcas’s mother after she died. The
clinic is involved in medical work and in counseling for young women who were
captured and raped during the ten-year war. They provide medical support for
the numerous villages in the northern part of Sierra Leone. In our visit we
saw more than 50 women with their children waiting to be seen. Finah and Peacemaker
were shocked and excited when we gave them a grant of $1,900. In addition to
general support for their HIV/AIDS work, they hope to obtain a machine that
can test for HIV/AIDS. Currently you have to travel several hours to Makeni
or Freetown to get tested for AIDS.
Rocky Mountain Conference Global AIDS: The $3,000 given in grants by the Rocky
Mountain Conference Global Aids Ministry to these three HIV/AIDS projects in
Sierra Leone carries the energy of the Spirit of God. The grants will bring
support and healing to people who are desperately in need. Sierra Leone is
one of the poorest countries in the world and this spirit of sharing enriches
the lives of the people of Sierra Leone.
Our trip to Sierra Leone and our experience of sharing our financial resources
to combat AIDS reinforced our support for the Rocky Mountain Conference action
to raise money to combat Global AIDS. $1 per member for the current quadrennium
is not a lot of money for any individual church, but it will make a huge difference
in places like Sierra Leone.
Looking For A Last Minute Christmas Gift?
Or
Where To Designate A Christmas Offering?
(Written by Don Messer)
Around the world this Christmas, children, young people, women, and men look
for love and life, health and hope, as they struggle against HIV/AIDS. The
worst global health emergency in 700 years beckons us to respond, especially
in the season of Christmas, as we proclaim God's
love in Jesus Christ.
Advent and AIDS. Are you are still looking for a last minute Christmas gift for someone special, or are you still deciding where to
designate a congregation's Christmas offering? Then please consider opportunities for sharing God's love by giving to help persons living
with HIV/AIDS, and to enable others to learn how they can prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Rocky Mountain Conference Project. The Rocky Mountain Conference, as you know, voted to raise $20,000 for Global AIDS projects
in 2003. Of this amount, $10,000 plus must be raised through voluntary gifts over and above apportionments. Already nearly $600 has been
received by the Conference office, thanks to gifts from Park Hill United
Methodist, Alamosa, Golden, and others. Exact projects have not yet been selected.
People Want To Help. For example, Park Hill United Methodist has raised more than $4,000 this Advent to support two Community
Caregivers in Namakkal, India. These women with AIDS are widows, caring for their own children, while working with a rural medical clinic to
give assistance and provide education to the poorest of the poor. People
at Park Hill give gifts in various sizes ranging from $10 to $25 to $50 to $100 upwards to $1,000. The very first gift received actually came from
a United Methodist Bishop in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as he wanted to express global solidarity with the suffering.
Yes, It's Late, But Not Too Late! An African proverb suggests that "The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, but the second best time
is today." For More Information, please don't hesitate to call 303 770 5809 or e-mail:
dmesser@iliff.edu
Where To Send Gifts. Christmas gifts designated to the Rocky Mountain Global AIDS Fund could make a big difference in the lives of
people. It would also stimulate next year's fund-raising. Send individual gifts or congregational offerings to:
Rocky Mountain Global AIDS Fund
% Dan O'Neill, treasurer
2200 South University Blvd.
Denver, Colorado 80210
Share Gift Cards. Park Hill simply provides people with simple gift cards that can be placed in envelopes. You can
create your own, but here is an example:
________________________________
This Christmas
A Gift In Your Name
Has Been Given:
The United Methodist
Rocky Mountain Global AIDS Fund,
Offering
Love & Life - Health & Hope
To "The Least of These My Brethren"
Around The World.
__________________________
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