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Deacons take hope, medicine to Zimbabwe
Oct. 20, 2005
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — A caravan of United Methodist deacons, searching for a
site for an AIDS treatment project, personally confronted the needs of those
suffering from the disease. “I see the
poverty, the problems, the lack of supplies, and yet I see a difference being
made in people’s lives,” said the Rev. Anita Krueger, one of six deacons who
visited hospitals and clinics in Zimbabwe. The trip was made possible by an
emerging-ministry grant and a caravan grant from the United Methodist Board of
Higher Education and Ministry.
The team which visited Zimbabwe Sept. 16-Oct. 1,
gathered information about AIDS, considered sites for Project Tariro and worked
on a partnership with Africa University for the new ministry. Project Tariro
will provide treatment and rehabilitation, as well as respite care with
home-based care for follow-up, counseling and spiritual support for people
living with AIDS.
The Tariro proposal will be completed and
presented to the Africa University Board of Directors in December. The United
Methodist-related school is near Mutare, Zimbabwe.
The team delivered more than 400 pounds of
medicine, medical supplies and clothes to clinics and hospitals in the Mutare
area. Several members of the group have worked in cross-cultural settings and
with HIV/AIDS patients.
The deacons found that the faith and hope of
Zimbabweans remains strong, even in the face of 300 percent inflation and 80
percent unemployment, compounded by a three-year drought.
“The people are smiling and polite, gracious, and
hospitable,” said Krueger, a deacon and nurse from the New Mexico Annual
(regional) Conference. “We, as strangers, were welcomed. Even the busiest
persons gave of their time; even the poorest generously shared their little,
treating us as honored guests.”
One who said she was transformed by her
experiences was the Rev. Debbie Gara, an associate pastor from the
California-Pacific Conference.
“I have seen tremendous, unexplainable faith and
perseverance, and gracious hospitality, all in the midst of a poverty and
economic strain that promises no sure future but for that faith,” she said. “I
have seen God as I had not known, and I will never be the same.”
Accurate statistics on HIV/AIDS are unavailable,
since it is seldom listed as the cause of a death. The government claims
infection is down from 32 percent to 21 percent of the general population, but
private studies have found higher rates.
The team visited AIDS patients and home-based care programs, talked with
volunteer caregivers, and interviewed directors of various agencies, such as the
Family Aids Caring Trust and National AIDS Council, as well as doctors and
nurses.
The deacons consulted with Africa University
faculty, including Peter Fasan, dean of the faculty of health sciences, and
Professor Fanuel Tagwira, dean of the faculty of agriculture and natural
resources, as well as Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa, leader of the church in Zimbabwe.
Nhiwatiwa expressed concern that the AIDS
conference coordinator position in Zimbabwe is vacant due to lack of funds and
personnel. The coordinator educates pastors about AIDS and how they can counsel,
minister and assist people to live positively with the virus.
The team heard stories of need everywhere.
Roberta Hupprich, a United Methodist Board of
Global Ministries nurse in Zimbabwe who is about to retire, said little is done
to treat people with HIV/AIDS, to help overcome the stigma of AIDS, to improve
patients’ nutrition or to help them live positively with the disease.
The Rev. Beauty Maenzanise, dean of Africa
University’s faculty of theology, said the project will allow pastors in
training to learn how to counsel AIDS patients.
Tagwira said agricultural and medical students at
the university could assist, too. He saw the project as complementing the
university’s proposed Africa Technology Training Center.
The Rev. Hollie Tapley of the South Georgia
Conference said the visit and project gave her renewed hope, even in the face of
much to do.
“We walked and prayed over the grounds of what we named the ?field of hope,’
with the prayer that this project will soon become a reality.”
Other caravan members were the Rev. Karen
Mitchell, Kansas East; and the Rev. Katia Parades, New Mexico. The Rev. Paul Van
Buren, East Ohio Conference, a deacon and retired Board of Higher Education and
Ministry staff member, led the caravan.
Others in the group were Van Buren’s wife, the
Rev. Corinne Van Buren, a deacon in the Minnesota Conference; Sam Dhlamini, a
Zimbabwean living in Great Britain; and Bobby Naylor, a businessman,
construction engineer and layman from the Tennessee Conference.
More information about the Tariro Project is
available by contacting Paul Van Buren at
paulvanburen@comcast.net.
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