Adopt-a-Village

The Need
The household of faith in Africa is facing a crisis of enormous proportions. The HIV/AIDS infection rate is spiraling out of control. Hard working village pastors serve their communities with dedication under very trying circumstances. All around them, people are sick and dying, children are orphaned and poverty is rife. As the economically active adult population dies, so the church income dwindles. However, the needs in the church rise exponentially. More and more the phenomena, of African villages populated with only elderly women and children, is being seen. These people need food and clothing. They need love and acceptance. Society needs the children to develop into whole adults. The cycle of death needs to be stopped so that the next generation can live.

The Cause
HIV/AIDS is spreading at an alarming rate; Sub-Saharan Africa having the highest infection rate. There are so many factors that contribute to this that it is difficult to summarize the reasons in one or two sentences. Some of the contributing factors are

• A migrant work force
• Traditional roles of men and women
• Myths and ignorance about the disease
  
  The Solution
  The long term solution to the AIDS crisis is a change in behavior of those who are sexually active. This involves changing heart beliefs and people’s mindset. The church in Africa is working hard at promoting life style changes as the ultimate solution. This, however, is very difficult in the face of millions upon millions of dollars being poured into the “safe sex” campaign which promotes freedom of sexual behavior as long as the participants use a condom. This message is not working. Helping Hands encourages the correct use of condoms as part of the solution, but we believe that a change in lifestyle is the long term solution. The infection rate has spiraled out of control and the innocent are reaping the results. The church universally has one of the greatest opportunities in history to make its presence known and its voice heard. It should not only be the rock stars who say and do the most. History should show that it was the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ that stepped in with a sound solution and that is what made all the difference.
  
  The Helping Hands Model
  Helping Hands has developed a model that has proved to be very successful over the past 15 years of operation. We have developed programs in AIDS prevention, AIDS patient care, Orphan Intervention, Foster Care, Poverty Alleviation, Social Grant Access, After School Study Centers and more. Our Rural Pastors Empowerment Program is aimed at training and equipping village churches to duplicate this model in their churches and communities. It takes about two years to fully implement the model after which time the village church is equipped to run the programs themselves and access funds from government and other agencies to sustain it. The outworking of this will be that the widows and orphans are cared for in their community by their community. They will be given the correct information about how not to be infected with HIV, the children will learn their morals and ethics from the Church, thereby adopting healthy life choices and slowing the pace of the infection rate. At the time of Africa’s greatest need, the Church will be its rock of safety.