Friday, February 29, 2008

"The Body of Christ has AIDS"

The Mission statement for the Pan African Province of Christian Brothers reads....
Our mission is
the liberation of oppressed youth
through broad based education and care,
leading to a life free from poverty,
ignorance, injustice and HIV/AIDS



During the months of September –December 2007, one of the themes we dealt with in the novitiate was HIV/AIDS. Throughout the month of September our activities included self-informative classes on the pandemic and group discussions. We also had the opportunity to meet with people living with HIV and people who have been working with HIV patients for years. One of the things we learnt from their rich experiences was how to live and deal with people infected with HIV.
The peak of our activities was on October 1. We decided to dedicate that day to the HIV/AIDS patients we had come to know. We invited them to our house and spent the day together with them interacting and socializing, expressing our solidarity with them and pledging our support and prayers.
December 1st, 2007 was another significant day. The whole novitiate community joined the local and international community and victims of HIV/AIDS to observe World HIV Day. The venue was the local main market-place, Aboabou market. There the attendance was called upon to act and do all they could to fight the disease and the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS.
Just as Teresa of Avila says: `Christ has no body now but ours, no hands, no feet, upon this earth but ours’. So if we are the body of Christ, it is our responsibility to reach-out to build the reign of God.
Sonny Kanneh

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