To respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Ethiopia, SIM has partnered with the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church (EKHC). The Kale Heywet church is an independent denomination initially setup by SIM many years ago and then spun off as their own organization. The church has grown to over 5,800 congregations with more than 5 million members. The bulk of the HIV/AIDS work and management is the responsibility of the church, with SIM providing support through theological education, fund-raising and missionary labour. While Anita and I are SIM Missionaries, we ultimately report to the leadership appointed by EKHC. This structure assures that the ministry is sustainable, since as missionaries we know that our time here is temporary and that our primary job is to build up and support the national leadership. It also allows for a more productive ministry, as our Ethiopian colleagues have government contacts and receive national support that would be otherwise unattainable as a foreign missionary organization.
The EKHC efforts have been focused on setting up support centers called the Medan ACTS sites. Medan is an Amharic word for ‘Saving the Generation’ and ACTS is an acronym for AIDS Control, Treatment and Support. There are presently 6 Medan sites in Ethiopia, with 2 more scheduled to open in 2007. Each Medan site operates programs for HIV/AIDS support as follows:
Behaviour Change Communication and HIV/AIDS Education
By working with public schools, churches and seminaries, the truth about HIV/AIDS is communicated to the public. Harmful stereotypes towards people living with AIDS and common myths and misunderstandings about HIV/AIDS are addressed.
Voluntary Counselling and Confidential Testing
The Medan ACTS sites operate as ‘walk-in clinics’ where people can come for free, confidential HIV testing. The patients will have ½ hr of pre-test counselling, as well as ½ hr of post-test counselling. People who test negative are educated on how to stay negative.
Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children
Orphans and children of people living with HIV/AIDS often suffer from poverty, discrimination, lack of proper education, lack of parental supervision and other social and economic issues. The Medan ACTS centers sponsor children’s school fees, provide money for food, housing and clothing as well as offer after-school homework clubs and Vacation Bible Schools.
Home Based Care for people living with HIV/AIDS
A person living with AIDS needs help with basic house cleaning, personal care and emotional support. Home Based Care workers travel from home to home providing spiritual care through practical help.
Each site can focus on specific tasks based on the needs of the people in their area, available funding and volunteer support. The facility here in Addis Ababa provides these services to the community, as well as acting as the EKHC HIV/AIDS headquarters. All Medan Sites report to a project manager, whose office is located at the Medan site in Addis. Dr. Estifanos, who is the EKHC HIV/AIDS director, is based in Addis and spends much of his time overseeing all the activities, as well as working as a consultant to the Ethiopian Ministry of Heath. In this capacity, Dr. Estifanos has the opportunity to help shape the national policy and response to HIV/AIDS in all of Ethiopia.
During the 2006 World AIDS conference in Toronto, Canada, community organizations were invited to submit papers on sustainable methods of HIV/AIDS prevention and education. A cure for AIDS is still 10 years away and the Conference organizers realise that prevention and education are presently the best ways to combat this epidemic. The EKHC submitted a paper on the ‘coffee ceremonies’ their home-based care workers organize in the homes of their HIV/AIDS patients. The neighbours and friends of the person living with AIDS are invited to this traditional ceremony where the home based care worker facilitates an open dialogue about HIV/AIDS. The EKHC submission placed within the top 25 of over 575 entries and has attracted the attention of global media coverage. The EKHC staff is overwhelmed at the attention and positive feedback their program is receiving.
It is an honour and a privilege for me to work alongside such a dedicated and wonderful team to do my small part to support their HIV/AIDS ministry. While I probably will not do any ‘real’ work to support their struggle against HIV/AIDS, I will do what I can to make sure they can work efficiently with their office technology in order to manage these wonderful programs. Over the next few months, you should start to hear more stories and see more photos and video about the work being done in Ethiopia as Anita expects that her role will be to catalogue the efforts already underway so that more people will hear and understand of the AIDS crisis in Africa. We are excited to see how our involvement will unfold over the next two years.
