AIDS Action hosted a group of 15 religious and faith-community
leaders from Africa as they made rounds to a number of congressional
and administration offices on Wednesday, April 9, 2003.
The African leaders, representing five nations—the Cote
d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe—came to
Washington as part of a six-week training run by The Balm
In Gilead, an organization dedicated to increasing the capacity
of faith communities to become an effective for in the fight
against HIV/AIDS in Africa. To meet this goal, The Balm
In Gilead works with established Christian and Muslim religious
and faith institutions. The Balm In Gilead is also an AIDS
Action Board Member organization.
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| Pernessa
Seele (The Balm In Gilead) in red amid The Balm In Gilead’s
African Faith Delegation at the Kaiser Family Foundation’s
Barbara Jordan Conference Center. |
The
objective of the three-day trip to Washington was to connect
with individuals and organizations in the U.S. that are
working to curb HIV/AIDS both here and abroad; to cultivate
relationships with influential leaders in the U.S.; and
to learn the skills necessary to develop relationships with
leaders in their own communities and countries.
AIDS
Action Welcomes The Balm In Gilead’s African Delegation
On
Tuesday, April 8, 2003, the African dignitaries attended
a tea reception, co-sponsored by AIDS Action and The Balm
In Gilead, in the newly-opened Barbara Jordan Center at
the Kaiser Family Foundation. Executive Director Dr. Marsha
Martin welcomed the African delegation, members of The Balm
In Gilead staff, and other guests, who included members
of National Organizations Responding to AIDS (NORA), and
representatives from Johns Hopkins University, the Catholic
University of America, Global AIDS Alliance, and Whitman-Walker
Clinic. Dr. Martin thanked the African dignitaries for coming
to the U.S. to share their experiences and establish critically-needed
partnerships and collaborations which will benefit everyone
affected by HIV/AIDS.
Balm-In-Gilead
Founder and CEO Pernessa Seele followed Dr. Martin’s comments
with a discussion of the mission and scope of her organization,
which has been working with faith leaders in the U.S. for
fourteen years and in Africa for two. Ms. Seale then turned
the floor over to the event honorees, all of whom approached
the podium in groups organized by country.
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Each group outlined the effects HIV/AIDS is having in
their respective homelands, giving context and a human
face to Africa’s HIV/AIDS statistics. In addition, the
speakers made it clear that attempts to curb HIV/AIDS
in Africa will not be successful unless they include religious
and faith communities because, as one delegate from Tanzania
informed, “Almost everybody goes to the church or to the
mosque.” Another comment, made by Lattif Ngirati Shaban
of Kenya’s Supreme Islamic Council, complemented this
observation: “The faith community is the only trusted
organization in Kenya. Our experience is that the mosques,
the churches have the trust of the community.”
Many
of the speakers gave heartfelt thanks to the tireless
efforts of The Balm In Gilead, praising its unifying power.
Reverend Nwashili Kaine Desmond from the Inter-Faith HIV/AIDS
Council of Nigeria seemed to capture the spirit in the
room when he spoke of The Balm’s work in Nigeria, his
native land. “What Balm is doing in Nigeria is great.
It is the first time Christians and Muslims have come
together on common ground.” One of the dignitaries from
Tanzania supported this view when he concluded, “The coming
of The Balm In Gilead was the best thing to happen to
southern Africa.”
A
brief question-and-answer period followed the presentations.
Delegation members were questioned about their beliefs,
as well as the care and treatment needs in their respective
countries. One delegate admitted, “The church and faith
community are challenged by the truth of HIV transmission.”
However, he quickly added, “[We] will encourage abstinence,
but we’ll also provide information from the scientific
world. We must accept the realities of life.” Another
delegation member aptly summed up the dilemma that faith-community
leaders face; then, he offered his solution: “It is not
possible in the pulpit to hold the bible in one hand and
a condom in the other. But, when I step away from the
pulpit, I can say, if you cannot stay faithful, if you
cannot abstain, wear a condom.”
Following
the question-and-answer period, Reverend Edwin Sanders
of the Metropolitan Interdenominational Church of Nashville,
TN and a member of the President’s Advisory Council on
HIV/AIDS (PACHA) offered some concluding remarks in which
he called the delegation’s visit “an historical moment”
that will influence the world’s response to the HIV/AIDS
pandemic for many years to come.
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| Strategizing. Tea time talk. Donna
Crews (AIDS Action) imparts pre-lobbying strategy
to The Balm In Gilead’s African Faith Delegation as
Pernessa Seele (The Balm In Gilead) and Reverend Edwin
Sanders of Nashville, TN look on. |
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