Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 10/20/2006

October 20, 2006

U N I T E D N A T I O N S

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) -

[These reports do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CONTENT:

1 - SOUTH AFRICA: Faith makes a difference in AIDS care

FISH HOEK, 19 October (PLUSNEWS) - When Rev. brought churchgoers

together to serve people living with HIV/AIDS seven years ago, donations came

from individual pocketbooks. Their work created a buzz, and by 2001 donations

were pouring in from individual congregations around the world. But few orthodox

donor agencies took note, reflecting an ambivalence - and sometimes scepticism -

towards faith-based organisations.

" Corporations, major foundations, and government bodies all had a degree of

suspicion that 'Actually, all you want to do is proselytize,' " said ,

senior pastor of Fish Hoek Baptist Church and founder and chairman of the board

of Living Hope Community Centre. " There was a sense that we were about the 'pie

in the sky,' or just interested in hallelujah. "

But the sentiment has changed in recent years, as faith-based

organisations, or FBOs, demonstrate a capacity to deliver services in local

communities. South Africa is at the heart of the world's HIV/AIDS pandemic;

according to a UNAIDS report issued earlier this year, one in five adults is

living with the virus. South Africa boasts thousands of faith-based

organisations tackling the fallout - from modest projects launched by individual

congregations to multi-million dollar initiatives.

FBOs do not yet receive universal support within the international aid

community; some religious perspectives on HIV/AIDS prevention, particularly

around the importance of condoms, clash with orthodox public health approaches.

But attitudes towards FBOs are shifting as efforts to contain the epidemic

falter.

Living Hope is just one example. Since its inception in 1999, the Christian

organisation has become a major service provider in the Deep South peninsula

near Cape Town. In addition to hosting a community centre, it manages a

home-based care programme with 20 caregivers, distributes food baskets to people

living with HIV/AIDS, and provides counselling and prevention education.

Since 2004, it has operated a 20-bed hospice for palliative care, the only one

of its kind in the area. In seven years, Living Hope's full-time staff has grown

from 5 to 110. Today, the organisation's US $800,000 annual budget is supported

by donations from major international organisations, including the United

States' President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), United Nations

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the European Union.

" If you had said to me seven years ago that international bodies would write a

cheque to what is in essence a church-based trust, I would have said, 'Never in

a thousand years,' " said. " But we are being funded, because people see

our delivery on the ground and our integrity in accounting. "

It's also part of a trend, as international donors seek innovative approaches to

a regional public health crisis that shows little evidence of slowing down.

" There's currently more of a focus on FBOs and we've been receiving a greater

number of questions from different nongovernmental organisations, " said Nelis du

Toit, manager of the Christian AIDS Bureau of Southern Africa.

" Churches are very connected organisations within communities, " du Toit

continued. " The church structures have been there for so long, all over the

country and in rural areas. Often, while other NGOs and state or governmental

organisations [struggle] to get things set up, the churches are there already.

Also, I think there is a bit of feeling that other NGOs or even

government-related activities are not always very effective. "

Faith plays an important role in South African society; according to South

Africa's 2001 census, 83 percent of the population identifies as Christian,

Muslim, Hindu or Jewish. That's spurring some NGOs to broaden their approach.

" The largest social network on the continent is without a doubt the churches,

but from a public health point of view, we've hardly talked to them at all, "

said Dr Garth Japhet, executive director of Soul City Institute for Health and

Development Communications in Johannesburg.

Japhet has designed a new multi-media education project called Heartlines in

collaboration with religious groups. Launched in July, Heartlines mobilised

congregations around the country to lead conversations about how values shape

individual behaviours. According to Japhet, the project's explicit connection

with faith groups offers a new opportunity to tackle South Africa's social and

public health problems.

" The end point is about social development, but instead of taking HIV/AIDS and

just looking at condom use, it looks at partner reduction, it looks at trust, "

Japhet said.

Institutional Advantages of FBOs

When it comes to service delivery in poor areas, religious institutions can

offer advantages over their secular or unaffiliated counterparts. " We can

attract all kinds of professional volunteers to the party, who wouldn't come

except in the name of Christianity or another faith, " said of Living

Hope.

He noted that the organisation operated for the first 18 months solely thanks to

retired professionals, including a doctor, community nurse, and bookkeeper.

" That degree is fairly unique to FBOs, because there is a sense that 'I want to

do this for God, not just for other people.' Whether Muslim or Hindu or

whatever, there's this love for God that says, 'I've got to do something beyond

myself.' "

The grassroots nature of many FBOs is also an asset when providing services on

the ground.

" Every church has its own unique way of setting up their programmes, adapting

and moulding themselves to the needs of their communities, " said

sen, field worker with Fikelela AIDS Project, affiliated with the Anglican

Church Diocese of Cape Town.

sen noted that of the 132 Anglican churches in the area, 94 have

established some sort of community response to HIV/AIDS. Some have created

home-based care programmes, while others choose to create food packs for

HIV-positive support groups. A few churches focus on income-generating projects.

Collectively, the diocese funnels resources to youth education campaigns, and to

a township emergency foster care home for 24 children, of whom 13 are living

with HIV.

sen said ongoing stigma about HIV/AIDS remains a challenge inside the

church, just as it is in broader South African society. Part of Fikelela's

campaign involves distributing T-shirts and signs that read, " This church is

HIV/AIDS friendly, " and " Our church has AIDS. " He said the shared sense of

values of religious institutions can help members to educate one another and

generate relevant responses to local problems.

" It's not a one-size-fits-all approach, " sen said. " We all have the same

way of worshiping, but we can adapt to the needs of our communities.

Increasing International Credibility

While local delivery has played a large part in the changing attitudes towards

FBOs, some cite policy changes under US President W. Bush for bolstering

the public's perception of religious service organisations.

" W. Bush has elevated the status of FBOs and given them a degree of

credibility, " said . About 40 percent of Living Hope's budget is funded by

PEPFAR, the initiative created under Bush's administration. Bush has routinely

called for partnerships with religious charities and PEPFAR has regularly funded

FBOs worldwide.

In 2005, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) granted US

$591 million to FBOs, totalling 14 percent of all grants, according to a March

report by the White House Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives.

Overall, the same report said, the US federal government awarded FBOs a total of

$2.1 billion, or 11 percent of all competitive social service grants, up 7

percent from the previous year.

Faith's Varying Place in Programmes

While FBOs in South Africa are predominantly affiliated with Christian churches,

other faiths have started outreach programmes in local communities. Among all

FBOs, the role of proselytizing or spreading overt religious doctrine varies.

" It's not really part of our programme, " said Kim Heismann, development and

marketing manager of the Cape Town office of MaAfrika Tikkun, a Jewish-led

charity organisation in South Africa. " We've tried to have the programmatic

activities be relevant to the communities where we're operating. "

MaAfrika sponsors a food kitchen in the nearby township of Delft, which serves

300-500 every day, including a weekly project to support those living with

HIV/AIDS. It's a project based in a community where most identify as Christian,

and local volunteers begin each meal with a Christian prayer and readings from

the Bible.

" We've got no Jewish people in the Delft community, " said Nasheema Ismail,

project coordinator for MaAfrika Tikkun food kitchen. " But when we tell them

where the food is coming from, they are very grateful to MaAfrika Tikkun, and

they are very grateful that the Jewish community got involved in Delft. "

But other organisations, such as Living Hope, explicitly share their faith with

the community they serve.

" We are here to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in a

meaningful way, " said interim director Trevor Gray. " We do not lie down that you

have to listen to our Bible thumping, although it is part of our ethos. We take

the approach that we've got to earn the right to share the Gospel. We're here to

share the love of God, and, if necessary, we'll tell them why. "

gw/oa

[ENDS]

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October 20, 2006