Taking Action on AIDS

World AIDS Day was marked in a variety of ways around the three counties.
St Mary's, Thatcham, posted prayers and a red ribbon on their altar and Hope Tshenkeng, diocesan president of the Mothers' Union in Kimberley and Kuruman, shared in prayer and reflection with local Mothers' Union members. Many churches used material from the prayer resources available for World AIDS Day.

A few weeks earlier, on November 22nd, local AIDS charity ACHIVA held a conference entitled "Restoring Hope: Practical Responses to HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa." Keynote speakers were South African AIDS activist Masi Cowper, who spoke of her own work empowering women living with HIV and AIDS; and Basil Eastwood, chair of Cecily's Fund , who shared lessons learned from that charity's work educating orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia. The keynote panel was chaired by the Bishop of Oxford.

Workshops offered further perspectives on particular projects -- among others Charlotte Bannister Parker and Hope Tshenkeng spoke of work in the Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman; Glen Williams from Strategies for Hope asked participants to share in an AIDS education activity from one of the charity's Called to Care books; and Paula Clifford from Christian Aid shared reflections on the extent to which understanding the cultural context is key to successfully working on prevention and care . . . and asked what it means to HIV+ in a rapidly changing global situation.

What did you do for World AIDS Day? Please let us know -- the more we share, the stronger our response becomes.