“You have been tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the micro-organism that causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).”

When the doctor announced the results, a mood of gloom and despair descended on Zainabu. She did not know where to go or what to do.

“It seemed like my life and the livelihood of my children had been cut, since they all depended on me.”

Looking for a shoulder to cry on, Zainabu wondered whom to inform or talk to. Her family and the community had no place for HIV-positive people. “I am an abomination,” Zainabu thought to herself.

Zainabu has had a difficult life. Harsh living conditions and extreme poverty left her trying to sell fried cassava and sometimes exchanging sex for money to support her family. This is how she contracted HIV, all in the name of providing for her young family.

Sadly, Zainabu’s story is not an uncommon one in Kenya. The prevalence of HIV among Kenyans ages 15-64 is 7.1 percent, which means about 1.4 million people live with HIV (Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation – Kenya World AIDS Day Address,  Dec. 1, 2009).

When Zainabu learned she was HIV-positive, she stayed in denial for some time. She came to grips with her situation when Compassion child development center staff members visited her home during their routine home visits and noticed her ill health. She then had the opportunity to disclose her HIV status.

The staff came to her help and encouraged her to think about life, and began to help her develop goals for living positively. It was during this period that she was given access to health facilities and connected to a doctor who advised her to join support groups and disclose her status.

“After long soul searching and prayer, I joined a local support group and disclosed my status publicly. After disclosing my status, I felt relieved. It was the best medicine for my disease. A new sense of hope arose in my spirit. A dawn of a better future emerged with high determination and commitment to face the disease head on. My anguish and fear were all gone, I could now break the silence, all because Compassion cared for me through the church and the access to health facilities.”

Zainabu joined Jipe Moyo Support Group, an initiative supported by the child development center which educates its members on HIV and AIDS. It also empowers family and community members with knowledge of long-term support and care, and raises acceptability of People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHAS) by family and community for stigma reduction. Jipe Moyo in Swahili means “take heart, take courage”

As a leader in the group, Zainabu has been very resourceful in the startup of a unique approach to helping PLWHAS. Through community education and meetings, she has helped ensure that other members of the community protect and give support to PLWHAS.

Zainabu’s CD4 count has improved significantly, and she has discovered hope and inspires hope in others suffering from the same condition. She now earns her living as a counselor helping other women and families to protect themselves against HIV and AIDS. She also has a small-scale business selling planting seeds and cereals.

Zainabu thanks the pastor and Compassion for allowing her to be the beneficiary of a revolving loan fund, where she got Kshs 5,000 to start the business.

“Since I joined Jipe Moyo Support group, I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience on new strategies for education on HIV/AIDS and therapeutic nutrition for People Living With HIV/AIDS. I have also acquired a lot of spiritual, psychological, emotional and economic support from the group.”

Zainabu admits that she has sometimes wondered whether proclaiming her status has put her at risk of ridicule and discrimination. However, she takes it in stride and still commits herself to protecting children and caregivers against HIV and AIDS in the center. And she says that her experience with HIV has increased her faith in God.

“I was running a race moving full speed, when suddenly, Wham! I hit a wall of HIV/AIDS. I was tempted to quit, turn back in defeat, perhaps fall down and die. But I didn’t.

“I have learned a lifelong lesson that when you feel the worst, when failure is breathing down your neck, look up and reach out to hope as never before. Believe in God and like dawn in the morning, light will come pouring in. You will see a breakthrough by breaking the silence. All you have to do to speak the Word is to have faith in the Word of God and in your God-given potentials.

“Breaking the silence and disclosing one’s status is the greatest challenge. I am not going to tell you it’s easy. The truth is, it is tough. Nevertheless, pushing on through the tough times is inevitable if one is to have a breakthrough.

“Once that happens, you will never be the same. You only need to take a step of courage and break the silence to make a never dying, never-quitting champion out of you.”

In her situation, through the assistance of church staff, Zainabu has brought light to the community. The development center offers free medical camp and voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services. It also invites people in the community who are HIV-positive and are happy to speak to encourage others about their status.

Staff members raise awareness about the need for antiretroviral therapy medicines for people with HIV, raise awareness about the need to accept people with HIV or AIDS, and raise support for children whose family members have HIV- or AIDS-related illnesses.

Zainabu also encouraged her mother to go for a test, and she turned out to be HIV-positive.

“As a family, we have committed ourselves to helping other people. Our advice: Eat good food, be faithful in your marriage, go to hospital immediately when you have an infection, plan your family, keep your mind on good thoughts, and share your problems – do not hide them. I can now work hard and focus on my health and that of my family.

“I am determined to see all my children finish school, go to university and even get married. I am determined to make the most of my new life. HIV should not stop anyone from achieving his/her goals in life.”

Zainabu was able to avoid transmitting HIV to her youngest daughter during childbirth. Zainabu is a happy mother because the baby was HIV-negative.

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We eat rice, millet pastry and beans. As we are only two, I cook once a day. After breakfast, I cook and we eat the meal at noon, and in the evening I reheat the leftovers and we eat.

We are living in an urban area. We have electricity and running water in the community, but only for those who can afford it. We also have a medical center in the neighborhood. Most people sell small items to feed their families.

I discovered my daughter was HIV-positive in 2005. She was suffering from severe chickenpox. The treating doctor suggested us to take an AIDS test. We agreed, and the child was declared HIV-positive.

I do not know how she got the disease, if it was during her birth or during the blood transfusion she got when she was very little.

My daughter does not yet know she is HIV-positive, but I will surely tell her. As I do not know how she will react, I am looking for the right moment to tell her.

I am also HIV-positive, but I do not know how and when I got infected. When the doctor discovered that my daughter was HIV-positive, he encouraged me to take the test and that was how I came to know.

I was very shocked when I found out. I was asking myself how I would live with the disease and how others would react.

Four years after being declared HIV-positive, I am still asking myself the same questions. And sometimes I even think of killing my daughter and committing suicide. I would not like to die and leave my daughter alone. Who will take care of her?

I have found no way out of this. In fact, it is because I do believe that God can make a way that I am still alive; otherwise I would have killed myself long ago.

People living with AIDS are not seen well. They are criticized and stigmatized. Whenever people know or even suspect you are HIV-positive they stop talking to you and won’t come to your house anymore.

My daughter and I are under antiretroviral drug therapy (ART) since 2005, just after the AIDS screening test.

My daughter takes lamivudine, aloe-vera and zidovudine. She takes one tablet of each drug in the morning and in the evening.

As for me, I take aloe-vera and zidovudine. I also take one tablet of each drug in the morning and in the evening.

So far we feel good and have not yet experienced any side effects. The doctor said that my daughter may start to vomit, or her eyes and hands may turn white, and he told me to bring her to him in this case. But so far everything is all right.

I would like God to give long life to my child. I am praying for God to make her succeed in life and be self-sufficient, and the Lord knows where to put her.

She has not yet told me about her dream, but she uses to say that when she grows up and gains a lot of money she will build a big house. I always tell her, “The Lord will give you long life and ability to achieve what you plan to do!”

After Azalea shared about her circumstances with me, she and her daughter took part in a sensitization campaign for caregiveres at the child development center.

People in Azalea’s community believe that they will be infected if they dare get close to HIV-positive people. Through these sensitization campaigns that Azalea’s church conducts from time to time, many people in the community have started to learn about the disease, and the stigma is decreasing.

When Azalea and her daughter returned home, the daughter asked so many questions that Azalea seized the opportunity to talk about their HIV-positive statuses.

The daughter asked many questions to understand more about HIV and AIDS. They talked positively, and there was no negativity. Praise God!

*Azalea is not the mother’s real name. Her name was changed for this blog post to protect her privacy.

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And in those five years, we have made some incredible strides, taken some risks, and as a result have sustained the lives of more than 20,000 of our beneficiaries, caregivers and siblings.

We began the AIDS Initiative because of an increasing awareness of the impact of HIV and AIDS, specifically in Africa. The virus had already done plenty of damage, and as our programs in Africa grew stronger, we were ready to embark on a new challenge — one that would have an enduring impact, give hope and save countless lives.

As Christians, we felt we had a mandate to do something more to impact the kingdom.

When we first began, the scientific community was still skeptical that Africans with AIDS could take the medicine that would keep them alive. While the sense of urgency was growing, commitments to fund the provision of antiretroviral therapy (ART) were not.

Aware of this tension, and the great need within our own programs, we sought the Lord and felt a confirmation that thrust the AIDS program ahead like never before.

We committed to the provision of the antiretroviral therapy before we really knew the extent of the impact. We just knew that we could not wait any longer, and by providing the highly sought-after ART for those with AIDS, we gave hope to those who prior to this, would not even think about getting tested.

Getting tested was risky, and finding out you were HIV-positive was pretty much suicide, because once that was known to others, a paralyzing stigma and discrimination flourished within communities and ART medicine was unlikely to be acquired.

But with your support we were able to do what few non-government organizations could. As a result, more and more children and their parents have been tested for HIV, as the hope of treatment and support gives them the confidence to do so.

For the first few years, we continued to provide the ART and other essentials, including nutritional support, medical care and testing as well as support for income generation. Our health workers made visiting HIV-positive children and caregivers part of their daily routine.

These were exciting days for the ministry, as we saw the impact of the decision to move this initiative forward. Lives were being sustained. Hope was being given. We went the last mile and that last mile was the difference between life and death.

In just the past few years, a blessing came to the international community. The commitment to providing ART through the Global Fund, PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief), President Bush’s lasting legacy, and other multi-lateral organizations has changed the face of this pandemic.

Though the need is still great, and more than 33 million people worldwide are estimated to have HIV, the international commitment to the pandemic has been encouraging.

Following President Bush’s last term, his efforts to contribute to this fight through PEPFAR have been highly lauded. But despite all the commitments, the funds to continue the support are at risk due to the current global economic crisis. As a result, Compassion may once again be in the position of having to provide for ART.

But as Christians with a strong faith in the Lord, we know that if this day comes again, we will do what we did before, and step out in faith to meet the most critical needs of this vulnerable group.

In the meantime, we’ll continue to walk The Last Mile.

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In the global fight against AIDS, the international community has brought access to lifesaving antiretroviral therapy (ART) to many health facilities around the world, but not all. Those lifesaving tablets that travel 10,000 miles sometimes don’t make it far enough.

“Because a jar on a dusty shelf in the clinic must not be the goal of the journey. We cannot congratulate ourselves and call that jar “access”. The jar on the shelf is not “access” – it is merely inventory.

“The entire business is a bitter failure without the last mile. It is the last mile that has proven to be the most difficult. It is a mile beyond the government’s reach. It is the mile into the hurting world and broken heart of the 9-year-old orphan living in the slum.

“The jar of pills traveled ten thousand miles but it needed to travel ten thousand – and one.”

– Scott Todd, Senior Ministry Advisor at Compassion

With our AIDS Initiative, Compassion is bringing the global fight “The Last Mile,” beyond the clinic, down dusty roads, through garbage-infested slums, up hills and into valleys to our church partners and beyond to the homes of our families.

True access to care means going beyond the clinic to the families who are waiting for the hope that only this medicine can bring.

Without ART, lives would be lost and families wrecked.

Our work fills the void, closes the gap and goes the Last Mile … not only in ensuring true access to the ART, but in the holistic approach to HIV and AIDS.

Our health workers know our families well, and visit those who are HIV-positive often, finding out what they need and how they are doing.

Our workers deliver care and support through the church, with the hope of Jesus Christ, to each family.

When a child needs to go to the hospital for care or testing for blood counts, we are there, realizing that without the support to get to the health center or hospital, all of the technology in the world is useless.

The machines used to count white blood cells, the x-ray machines to look for suspicious masses and infections, the medicine to treat opportunistic infections, and the medicine to help keep those with AIDS alive … all would be rendered useless without our church partner’s health workers who work as advocates, educators, comforters and confidants to our families.

When a child needs additional nutritional support to stay strong, our workers are there. When a distraught parent needs someone to talk to about a diagnosis of HIV, our workers are there.

When a mud hut is crumbling because a family affected by HIV and AIDS has lost its livelihood, our church partners are there to help the family regain their dignity.

One mile is not far, but for those living in poverty, with little contact with the outside world, that last mile is the difference between life and death.

“The Last Mile takes counseling, home visits, facilitating transport, payment for clinical services, lab tests and medicines including antiretroviral drugs. It takes a willingness to go the distance. It takes perseverance.

“The Last Mile takes people filled with compassion, whose faith and hope come from a deeper spring than the world has ever known. People of uncommon strength to walk the slums. People strong enough to carry joy in the dark. People with their hands busy at the work of healing today’s hurts even as their eyes remain fixed on eternity.

“Where do we find such people? They are already gathered. They are crowded into little rooms in the slums, in the city centers, and even in the forests. They gather to sing praise to Jesus Christ, to pray for each other and for their hurting world. They are His people, His Church.

“The Last Mile takes followers of Jesus Christ doing ministry the way Jesus did it – holistically. It takes His Church.”

– Scott Todd

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As the Body of Christ, caring about this disease, which is primarily spread through deviant behavior (though certainly not all the time), it is our chance to do the unexpected … to care for those infected with HIV, no matter the cause.

And with World AIDS Day next week, it’s as good a time as any to act like the person who came to save us.

What Is AIDS?

Many people know the terms HIV and AIDS, and often use them interchangeably, and as a result, incorrectly.

HIV is a virus, the human immunodeficiency virus, one of the most persistent and complicated viruses of all time.

This virus causes the body to become immunodeficient, which means that it causes the body’s immune system to be weakened, which makes the body’s defense system not work as well as it could and as a result, become more susceptible to infections.

AIDS stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. AIDS is a result of HIV. It is the last stage of an HIV infection.

A person first gets HIV, and then later, usually years later, will develop AIDS.

A CD4 cell is a type of white blood cell sometimes called a T cell. A person is diagnosed as having AIDS when his or her CD4 cell count drops below a certain level, around 300 cells per millimeters cubed (mm3). The normal range is between 500-1,600 CD4 cells per mm3.

Over time, a person with HIV will lose these cells through destruction by HIV. Then that person will be more vulnerable to infections … opportunistic infections.

Without treatment, the opportunistic infections will eventually claim the life of a person infected with HIV. But treatment is available and it is called ART, which stands for antiretroviral therapy.

Because of the advent of ART, those who once were hopeless and waiting to die now have a second chance. But really why should we care about AIDS?

Why Should We Care About AIDS?

Unfortunately, the world doesn’t view us, the Body of Christ, as people who respond indiscriminately to such a disease.

Jesus healed the blind and lepers and never stopped to judge them or think that they had been cursed. He cared about people … all people, and through the words of Matthew 25 or 1 John 3:16-18, encourages us to do the same.

Jesus speaks of seeing the needs of others and moving beyond this to care for others and their needs … except for those with HIV and AIDS. Right?

No. He meant that we should meet the needs of all those we encounter, whether the needs are physical, emotional or spiritual.

I see the words of these passages as a direct command to jump in, feet first, to the situations we encounter, and in this day and age, there are more than 33 million people in the world living with HIV, some with AIDS. They are battling daily to fight the emotional toll of this disease and the discrimination that comes with it.

There are plenty of opportunities for us to help. And because ART is available, the once-grim prognosis of someone with AIDS is now one of hope.

And because of how Compassion works, we fill in the gaps of care that the government is unable to commit to. By doing so we give great hope to those who a few years ago would have felt very lost and very discouraged.

People who die of AIDS often die in a similar manner as those with cancer, but without the support of loved ones, friends and the community.

AIDS is real, and though there are many more diseases in our age that are also very important to address, this one presents challenges that few can rival.

From the biochemistry and immunology of the virus to the stigma and discrimination that those infected face, HIV and AIDS need attention on all levels … but mostly in the willingness of Christians to live up to the book that we all follow.

This is our chance. The virus has been around for more than 25 years. Let’s be aware, care and dare to make a difference.

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Remember when you answer each day’s HIV/AIDS question correctly, you are eligible to win a free CD – your choice of either Portable Sounds by tobyMac or Beyond Measure by Jeremy Camp. We’ll randomly choose a winner each day from the correct answers.

The answer to yesterday’s question is false.

HIV can be passed from a mother to her child in three ways: during pregnancy, during childbirth, or through the breast milk. Even though children may not be infected when they are born, they can still be infected later through their mother’s breast milk.

Simple drug interventions, however, can prevent mother-to-child transmission, which can greatly reduce the overall rate of HIV transmission.

Source: The Skeptic’s Guide to the Global AIDS Crisis by Dale Hanson Bourke (Colorado Springs, Colo.: Authentic Books, 2006), p. 15

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“CompassionArt is a charity that joins the dots between art and poverty. It raises money to help breathe life into the poorest communities, restoring hope and igniting justice.” – compassionart.tv

Compassion U.K. is one of 12 charities receiving royalties from the album sales.

The widget below has lots of details on the CompassionArtproject, as well as a link to download a free song with song sheet and the first chapter of the book, which explores the inspiration, motivation and passion behind this exceptional collaboration.

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Sorry I haven’t contributed much lately. I’m still here and still handling crisis communications, in case you were wondering. There is something that has been on my mind that I feel compelled to share with you.

I’m gonna step outside my comfort zone for a minute to share this with you. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. I was diagnosed with it when I was 15, so I’ve had it for half my life, but you’d probably never know it if you met me. I don’t talk about it much. Most people I interact with on a regular basis don’t even know. In the past 10 years the medical research and pharmaceutical industries have come a long way in treating the disease, and this has allowed me to live to a virtually pain-free, symptom-free life.

But here’s the thing. I have a normal life simply because I happen to have been born in the United States. I have access to powerful drugs. I have insurance to cover the (outrageously high) cost of them. Certainly I am grateful for this, but lately I’ve been thinking about what my life would be like if I were born into poverty in a developing country. What if I was from rural Rwanda? Or a slum in the Philippines? Or a poor community in Nicaragua?

I’d more than likely be totally crippled by now. At 30 years old.

This thought really freaks me out, to be honest with you. I cannot imagine what it would be like to not be able to stand up straight, to walk, or to grip things. To live in constant, life-altering pain. I feel guilty for being happy I was born here. I don’t have to try to live with this disease without the help of drugs. I am not crippled. I assume it’s similar in a way to the guilt a person feels when they survive a car accident where the other passengers died . . . the ugly injustice of it. I understand that God’s ways are higher than our ways, but I struggle to understand why He chooses for some — why He chose ME — to be born into affluence and why He chooses some to be born into poverty. It’s not fair.

Nowhere is this injustice more evident than in the fight against HIV and AIDS. December 1 was World AIDS Day, and Brianne told you about our AIDS Initiative. The amazing thing about this program is that it literally restores justice to an unjust world. Without access to antiretroviral drugs, those battling AIDS in poverty-stricken countries fight an unwinnable war. By providing the antiretroviral therapy, Compassion allows children with death sentences another chance at life. A chance that, had they been born here, they would have had simply by virtue of their nationality.

If anyone is in the position to get this, it’s Godfrey. He understands that he is alive today because Compassion is fighting the injustice of HIV and AIDS in Uganda. His life is his testimony.

Compassion’s AIDS Initiative is more than just drugs. It’s nutritional support. It’s the critical laboratory testing. It’s psychosocial support. It’s treatment of opportunistic infections. It’s transportation assistance. It’s income generation. It’s housing repair. It’s all the opportunities that a person suffering from HIV here in the U.S. would have.

The AIDS Initiative essentially levels the playing field to give every victim of HIV — no matter where they were born — an equal chance to survive this devastating disease.

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When Aline in Burkina Faso (not her real name) was first found to be HIV positive, the other children in the family would inch away when she came near. 

Now that Deede in Ghana has found out she is HIV positive, she’s afraid that if anyone else finds out they’ll stop buying her doughnuts, her only way of making a living. 

When neighbors in Ethiopia found out that 15-year-old Tigist was living with HIV, they told the family to stay away from them and not touch anything of theirs.

Tigist didn’t tell her friends she’s HIV positive; she couldn’t handle their rejection. But they have already started to whisper. She decided to drop out of school. 

One of the huge challenges facing people living with HIV around the world is not only the physical illness, but the overwhelming stigmatization and discrimination that exists in many countries.

People living with HIV are often shunned, disowned, feared, and thrown out. Many people who suspect they might be infected don’t go for an HIV test. They’re too afraid neighbors will see them on the way to the clinic and too afraid of what they might find out. 

Many people who are found to be HIV positive are too afraid to speak out and advocate for others living with HIV. They don’t know what will happen to them.

One mother who is assisted by Compassion says, “I wish I could talk openly to people to try and know their status, but I do not have the courage yet. Maybe I will one day.” 

Beneficiaries of the AIDS Initiative aren’t always comfortable sharing their stories. One mother recently asked that her son’s name not be used for fear that if the sponsor found out her son was HIV positive, he would cancel the sponsorship. Others don’t want their pictures shown for fear that someone in their country might see it. 

This is one reason that sometimes, as with Aline, we change the names of the people whose stories we tell. It’s also why we never reveal the location of beneficiaries of the AIDS Initiative beyond the country they live in. 

Compassion-assisted churches are working to end the stigma and discrimination. Advocacy events and classes to educate about HIV are held at child development centers, and damaging myths about the life-threatening illness are dispelled.

HIV-positive parents are becoming brave and starting support groups and even businesses together. Many governments worldwide are working to raise awareness of HIV and offering free testing and antiretroviral therapy. Attitudes are slowly beginning to change. People are voluntarily being tested. Children and parents are getting the treatment they need, and slowly parents are speaking up to support others who are living with HIV. 

Tigist decided staying at home wasn’t a good option. After receiving counsel and encouragement from her project, Tigist has enrolled in a new school in her area. She dreams of being a pediatrician, to help other children who are sick. 

Photo by Elizabeth Karanja, Compassion Kenya field communication specialist

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And like many other aspects of poverty, HIV and AIDS have the ability to take a frightening toll on children.

Today is World AIDS Day, and I’m taking it as an opportunity to let you know how committed we are to fighting the disease.

It begins with our AIDS Initiative program, which is working on a grassroots level through the local church to take on the AIDS pandemic, one child at a time.

Ok, pause.

AIDS Initiative, pandemic, poverty . . . I don’t like throwing around these words. It is easy to just roll over the keyboard and punch out the words. But can you imagine? I mean really, can you even imagine what it is like to be infected with HIV or affected by AIDS?

To better understand the effect HIV and AIDS have on people, particularly people in the developing world, and to get a better glimpse into what the Lord is doing through Compassion, I think we need to unpack a few details. I hope your mind is engaged and your heart is prepared because I am about to give you just that.

Now, as I was saying, our AIDS Initiative works to aid one child at a time. For example, this child:

One morning, 13-year-old Meskerem, a Compassion-sponsored girl in Ethiopia, woke up complaining of fatigue. The top student with a winning smile and personality said, “I thought I was coming down with a cold and that it would just go away.” But a few days later, Meskerem found herself in the ICU ward of the local hospital.

The doctors suspected that the girl’s persistent cough was the result of tuberculosis, brought on by the kind of compromised immune system that HIV infection causes. A subsequent test, given at the permission of her mother, Aberash, revealed the truth: Meskerem had HIV.

After the shocking diagnosis, the doctors scrambled to save Meskerem’s life, which was quickly slipping away. “It was hard to believe this brilliant, healthy girl could come so close to death in such a short period of time,” says Ato Cherent, her Compassion center’s health worker.

Ato stayed by Meskerem’s bedside day and night, praying for God’s help while the critically ill girl underwent transfusions and other procedures to bring her back from the brink.

When she was finally well enough to go home, her mother broke the news to Meskerem. Meskerem later explained, “I felt so sad when I heard about my condition,” she says. “But at the same time, I was glad I was still alive, and I believe Jesus was holding me by the hand when I came face to face with death.”

For the past two years, Meskerem has been taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) twice a day, every day. Her mother is also HIV-positive and on ART. But through all the hardship, the faith of mother and daughter is steadfast.

“God didn’t abandon us, and He will never do so,” says Aberash. “Compassion provides us with nutritional support, medical treatment and education for my daughter. God in His infinite mercy also gave my little girl a second chance. What more could I want?”

And there are hundreds more stories just like this. But if you want more concrete information to help understand the affect the AIDS Initiative is having in the developing world, I have that too.

• Over 2,700 HIV positive children in Africa are receiving support through the AIDS Initiative.
• 1,261 of these children are receiving antiretroviral treatment as well as many life-saving benefits through Compassion.
• Over 16,000 HIV positive caregivers and siblings of Compassion sponsored children are being supported through the Initiative.
• 43 percent of caregivers and siblings in Africa are also receiving antiretroviral treatment.

Ok, wait. What is antiretroviral treatment and how is Compassion’s provision of this treatment different from the approach other organizations take?

I asked Amy Metzger, our senior international health program specialist.

“Compassion’s support for HIV positive children and those living with AIDS is special because we meet the needs that are often unmet. While most governments are now providing ART, we realize that this alone is not enough.

We offer nutritional support, CD4 count testing, psychosocial support, treatment of opportunistic infections and transportation assistance, along with income generation support and housing repair when needed.

Health workers follow up with home visits to monitor a child’s home environment, the treatment progress and work to address any needs a child may have.

These are the critical components that keep the children alive. Our program is holistic and considers the full range of needs of those that are HIV positive and those affected by this pandemic.”

Wow! That sounds pretty comprehensive to me.

More importantly, even though many children in our care are not infected, their lives and well-being are jeopardized by HIV infections within their families and communities.

Therefore, our response to HIV and AIDS extends beyond prevention of new infections and treatment of the infected, to include care for those whose lives are indirectly affected by the pandemic.

Ok, I know that was a lot to take in. But can you believe, in the midst of such horrifying circumstances the kindness and provision of the Lord that is going forth? And He is using you to make the difference!

Help us spread awareness about our AIDS Initiative — please add this widget to your blog and social networking profiles.

While you’re at it, please make a donation to our AIDS Initiative program to help more children like Meskerem.

Special thanks to Tigist Gizachew, Compassion Ethiopia’s field communications specialist for the story and photos about Meskerem.

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