Church members hear of efforts to fight HIV and AIDS in Ethiopia
By Bill Rea

These representatives of Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church spoke about their efforts to deal with HIV and AIDS in their country Saturday night at King Bible Church. Seen here are Dr. Adamu Adisie, Timotiwos Genebo, Desta Demessie, Dr. Estifanos Biru and Sister Tewabech Tekalegn.

AIDS has been a topical issue over the last several days, and the information spread to King City Saturday night.

About 20 people gathered at King Bible Church to hear from a number of members of the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church, who had travelled from Africa to take part in the AIDS conference in Toronto.

"It was an excellent exercise," commented Desta Demessie, a deputy general secretary with the church.

He added the church was among 25 out of some 525 organizations to receive a Red Ribbon award at the conference for the work it's doing in the area of HIV and AIDS.

Demessie also pointed out the conference tried to look into best practices, especially when it comes to dealing with stigma and discrimination, which are hot issues where this illness is concerned.

Some critics suggested the conference was more of a forum for spotting celebrities, such as Bill Gates or Bill Clinton, but Demessie said it was much more than that. "A lot of behind-the-scenes work was going on," he commented.

He also pointed out Gates did put up $500 million to the cause. The problem is making sure that money makes an impact at the grass-roots level. He added Clinton brought his vast political influence, which could be helpful in getting help at the community level.

In addressing the audience, Demessie said God gives the church a special place, with the power to reach and transform lives. "We are commissioned to do that," he commented.

The Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church has been in existence for more than 75 years, with 6,347 congregations all over Ethiopia and some five million members. It also operates about 250 Bible schools, training evangelists who are sent all over the country.

Demessie said the church also has a water development program because 80 per cent of diseases in the country are water related. They are sometimes asked to provide water rather than preaching, although he pointed out it goes without saying that people know where the members of the program are coming from and they understand the value of what they do.

Poverty is another big factor in the country, he said, adding the church works to bring people together to teach them, and that includes women. He said it takes time and commitment for these women to break out of the poverty trap. "Slowly, we see a change in their life," he remarked.

Dr. Estifanos Biru, head of the program, told the audience Ethiopia is the third most populated country in Africa, and HIV and AIDS is among the many problems facing people there.

The church helped pioneer health sector development in Ethiopia until the mid-1970s, when a Marxist regime took power. The church started getting involved again in the mid'80s, to help deal with famine, and the medical ministry was established in 1995. By this point, the HIV and AIDS crisis was apparent, and the church saw the need for leadership to address it.

At the time, Biru said there was a lot of debate as to whether this was something in which the church should get involved. There were some who argued there were other issues to deal with, as opposed to those who believed the scale of the problem called for more attention.

In 2005, about 4.7 per cent of the population was affected. The first case was reported in 1982, but the

numbers have been rising sharply since then, and continue to go up.

"We have a lot more to do,' he declared.

As well, he said the church saw a spiritual and moral responsibility to get involved and care for the people who were impacted.

He also pointed out people afflicted with the illness face systemic discrimination. In that sense, Biru said they are in prison. The church was in a position to show love and help provide for their needs.

There was also a Biblical mandate for the church to get involved and help carry the burdens of others.

And the church had the capacity to get involved, with a wide range of experience and abilities represented in the membership.

The program run by the church has a number of components, including

home-based care, psychological and sociological support, economic support, education, prevention, counselling, helping mothers prevent passing the virus to their children and support for young people orphaned by AIDS.