"ANESU Partnership" Our Vision

ANESU Partnership _Blog Post_

"December 2010 Up-Date"

December Newsletter 2010

"Introducing The South Ridge ZimVision Team"

SRCC

"Frontline Report" (December 2010)

CORRECTION:

Julie VanZevern's grandchild soon to arrive and require surgical attention is a grandson, not a granddaughter, as was indicated in this report.


Frontline Report

"World AIDS Day"

It's WORLD AIDS DAY today.

Thank you for caring …

Thank you for sharing …

Thank you for praying.

Let's rise above the malaise of compassion fatigue and give a thought to the 35 million people who are living with HIV/AIDS today worldwide.

Statistics vary because so many population groups, particularly in Southern Africa, live in areas where stigma keeps many silent and where no accurate records are kept. Please take any statistic you read as a conservative estimate of the horrible reality.

As you notice the levelling off in the increase factor in some instances, remember the tragic damage to families (particularly children) and communities that's been left behind.



An estimated 23 million people died of AIDS between 1990 and 2007. In 2007 alone, more than 2 million people died from AIDS-related causes.
Source: 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic Executive Summary, page 18.
(www.UNAIDS.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Default.asp)

72% of the world’s AIDS-related deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, where 4-10% of the world's population lives.
Source: 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic Executive Summary, pages 5 & 18.
(www.UNAIDS.org/en’KnowledgeCentre/Default.asp)

In 2007, 1,000 new children (the majority, newborns) were infected with HIV each day.
Source: 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic Executive Summary, page 8
(www.UNAIDS.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Default.asp)

Every two minutes, a child under the age of 15 years dies of an AIDS-related illness.
Every minute, 14 seconds, a child is orphaned by AIDS.
Every minute, another child becomes HIV positive.
Source: UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children 2008, page 129
(www.unicef.org/publications/index_42623.html)
2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, Executive Summary, Page 9
(www.UNAIDS.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Default.asp)

Of the estimated 2 million HIV-infected children under the age of 15 years, 87% of them live in sub-Saharan Africa.
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 22.1 milllion HV-positive people, 67% of the worldwide HIV-positive population.
Source: as above, pages 4,5& 9.

Only 20% of children with HIV are receiving antiretroviral therapy.
Source: As above, page 4.
www.WHO.org

"November 2010 Up-Date"

November Newsletter 2010

"Discipling for Development"

Discipling for Development is a key focus of the ministry of The Navigators in the African countries where they work (Burkina Faso, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda. The Navigators has no work in Zimbabwe).

Discipling for Development is a strategy The Navigators utilizes to impact poor, rural communities with a holistic Gospel.

Edward Mupada, Uganda country director for The Navigators, has said, “… I realized that we were on a new and exciting dispensation in the advancement of the Gospel. But how could we be relevant in a situation where unemployment levels are over 40% and many live in abject poverty?

“In November 2007 I attended the Discipling for Development training in Mbale, Uganda. I saw rural communities being transformed by the Gospel and livelihoods of people improving as they used local resources. The poor are given life skills and the Gospel is flowing freely through relational networks, impacting families and neighboring communities. I praise God for a new approach in discipleship that helps us reach the whole person and whole communities!”

The main focus of the work is among the rural poor in Africa. In countries where the church is well established, the Discipling for Development team enters into partnerships with in-country organizations that share our vision and commitment. They call these partnerships Discipling for Development mentoring projects. In these situations our mentors don’t live in the country where the training takes place; instead, they travel to the country about three times a year to train and coach indigenous missionaries and pastors. In countries (or people groups) where the church isn’t adequately established, The Navigators sends mentors to live among the people and implement the Discipling for Development process.

This approach is in line with the vision and strategy of the Zimbabwe ANESU Partnership. We invite you to watch this video clip, “What is Africa Yearning For?”, and rejoice in the good work being done through The Navigators in Africa, and pray that we too, might be effective in assisting the Church in Zimbabwe to meet the challenge Zimbabwe’s people face.

We believe that our relationship with Foundations in Farming (http://www.foundationsforfarming.org/) will greatly enhance this strategy, as we bring it to bear in Zimbabwe.

"AIDS And The Church"

The Church is people, not buildings and programs. The Church is God's people, dedicated to giving themselves to being God's hands and feet in a hurt and wounded world. TEAM's HIV/AIDS initiative is comprised of two main strategic church-based components. The ZITA Alliance is representative of the household of faith in North America ... local congregations or individual Christ followers who feel compelled to have a part in today's HIV/AIDS response. The ANESU Partnership is representative of front-line local-church based national initiatives and locally based global responses in Zimbabwe. This fellowship of people in Zimbabwe is working toward an ever more intentionally harmonized response to the human need caused by the human predicament of which poverty and HIV/AIDS is central.

For more information about the ZITA Alliance, or for information about becoming part of the ZITA Alliance response team on behalf of Zimbabwe's people, please contact Dave Davis, TEAM's Global Projects Director at d.davis@teamworld.org.

The article, "Aids And The Church", appeared in a previous edition of TEAM's Horizons magazine. It is included here for your interest and edification.



AIDS and the Church

"Church Families on The Front Lines"

A strategic team from Clinton, New Jersey will be in Zimbabwe in January, and another will following a few months later.

Pastor Ron Christiansen and the East Troy Bible Church family have launched Africa Impact 2011, a team vision trip being planned for March, 2011.


We're pleased to offer this unedited PowerPoint presentation that speaks to the heart of what is driving this intentional group of people to be involved.

If you and your church family would like to be part of what God is doing in Zimbabwe through the ANESU Partnership, we invite you to write to Dave Davis at ddavis@teamworld.org, or jrathbun@teamworld.org. Ask about the ZITA Alliance of individuals and church families that you could become a part of.



Africa Impact 2011 -

"Zimbabwe/Mozambique News"

Today we post the first Zimbabwe/Mozambique Newsletter. The ANESU Partnership lies within the embrace of the broader involvement of TEAM in Zimbabwe. We ask you to consider the whole picture as you partner and pray for what God is doing in and through the people of Southern Africa.


2010 November Newsletter and Prayer Focus

"A Global View of HIV/AIDS"

This is a repeat post for those who may have missed it the forst time around.

In February, 2009, Hans Rosling explained the HIV/AIDS pandemic with the aid of fabulous new shifting graphics.

He has converted the best available data from UNAIDS and WHO into understandable Gapminder bubbles.

While the statistics are difficult to accurately quantify in some areas of the world, especially sub Saharan Africa, this does illustrate the reality as we know it.

The two key messages that the global HIV epidemic has reached a “steady state” with 1% of the adult world population infected and that there are huge differences in HIV occurrence between and within African countries.

Many African countries have the same, relatively low, HIV levels as can be found in most of the world, whereas 50% of the world’s HIV infected persons live in a few countries in Eastern and Southern Africa (with 4% of the world population).

You will notice that Zimbabwe’s HIV rate of infection soared at one stage, but has been reduced quite dramatically in recent years.  While the rate of infection is still alarmingly high, we would suggest that one of the key factors in the turn-around had to do with government’s shift in policy that went from denying the existence of HIV to recognizing its reality and beginning to allow something to be done about it.  

Hans Rosling closes his speech by summarizing probable reasons for the high HIV burden in parts of Eastern and Southern Africa and he claims that the focus must be on preventing further HIV transmission in these highly affected populations.

I encourage you to watch this clip, and go to http://www.gapminder.org/videos/ted-talk-2009-hans-rosling-hiv-facts/ where you will be able to download the movie FREE in order to pass it on. 

"AIDSlink Newsletter October 2010"

Diane Marshall, International Aids Consultant for SIM, does an excellent job of contributing to the global HIV/AIDS conversation. We're pleased to offer here her most recent AIDSlink newsletter. The article on "Ethical Photography" is a good reminder for us as the ANESU Alliance carefully balances the dignity of the individual with the necessity to keep compassionate and caring people informed.


AIDSLINK96

"September/October 2010 Up-Date"

October Newsletter 2010

"International Prayer Day for Zimbabwe"

Please make note of September 26, 2010.

That day has been set aside as a day of prayer for Zimbabwe.

While there is much uncertainty in that nation, this call for Prayer is not being made in a vacuum.

The ANESU Partnership is partnering with Foundations in Farming in Zimbabwe, and believe in the vision that drives that ministry. Please have a look at http://www.lovezim.org/ where you will be able to read more.

Essentially, gatherings in Zimbabwe are being organized for that day by Trumpet Call for Transformation, a partnership between the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe and Foundations for Farming. This partnership aims to equip the Church with agricultural skills in order to feed Zimbabwe and set her on her feet to recovery.

"July/August Up-Date"

July/August Up-Date

"Please Remember The Children"

Journalist Fidelis Zvomuya, of Inter Service News Agency (http://allafrica.com/stories/201007280006.html), recently wrote, “According to UNAIDS, Zimbabwe has over 1,3 million AIDS orphans. About 100,000 of them live on their own while others live with their extended families.

It estimates that between 110,000 and 140,000 children aged between 0 to 14 years are living with HIV - who mostly live in rural areas.

And the country does not have enough antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to comply with World Health Organisation recommendations on providing treatment to people with HIV. According to Dr Tapuwa Magure, CEO of the Zimbabwe National AIDS Council, the number of Zimbabweans in need of ARVs has increased to 570,000 from 350,000.”

“Currently about 200,000 people whose immune systems have been severely weakened are on ARVs. This number includes children”, Magure said.

“But Tanya Weaver of the American Foundation for Children with AIDS, said Zimbabwe receives little HIV/AIDS funding support from any of the major donor initiatives. The country receives approximately four dollars per HIV-positive person per year.”

“In contrast, neighbouring Zambia, which has a similar rate of HIV prevalence, receives around 187 dollars per HIV-positive person annually from foreign donors,” states Weaver.”

Zvomuya quoted a medical doctor at Guruve Hospital who said, “In most rural areas, children with AIDS are generally considered a lost cause.

Treatment, to the extent it exists, is limited to adults, for whom antiretroviral therapy is cheaper and easier.

Specialized and costly tests are needed to determine whether a child under 18 months is infected, although treatment can begin based on symptoms alone.

Children are also more complicated to treat, partly because their medication must be constantly adjusted as their height and weight change. And paediatric drugs cost more than adult medication until recently, up to three times as much.

The doctor added, Half of all untreated HIV-positive infants die before the age of two for lack of medication that can produce transformations seemingly overnight.”

These are some of the realities of the situation responders in Zimbabwe are dealing with.

The challenge is multi-tiered and so must the response be. We are doing what our partners equip us to do by means of a Home Based Care program operating out of a hospital in the rural Northeast of Zimbabwe.

Our vision is to broaden that response into other affected areas of the country.

One of the ways that will be accomplished will be by means of networking and strategic partnerships with sister HIV/AIDS response initiatives presently underway within Zimbabwe.

Internationally, one of the most vital components to response expansion will be the ZITA Alliance that is being formed in North America.

For more information, please write budwestcoast@shaw.ca.

"From The Heart of a Pastor"

The ZITA Alliance is a gathering of representatives from the North American household of faith who feel compelled to join forces with the Zimbabwean Church in the fight against the human predicament that is exacerbating the impact of HIV/AIDS.

We are profoundly grateful for the pastors who have caught the vision and are challenging men and women of God toward sensitivity to the heart beat of God, so that they will hear the voice of God when He whispers, "I need you to be part of this ..."

Please read this prayerfully, and consider the role God would have you fill as we respond to the challenge He places before us. It is something a ZITA Alliance pastor shared with a team of individuals from the congregation he serves, who are contemplating being part of a trip to Zimbabwe early next year.

"This vision trip is a pro-active step to peel back the insulation from the wires of our faith and connect us with the power of God's vision for the nations.

You may or may not be affected by the HIV crisis in Zimbabwe, but if you go on this trip, you will return changed. We live such protected and insulated lives in our communities in America. To really grasp the purposes of God for our lives, we need to make conscious and energtic steps to expose ourselves to the pain and suffering of this world. Honestly, this trip is more about your walk with God than it is about the millions of Africans dying with HIV.

HIV is an agent that focuses the intensity of the curse on mankind. Just as the earthquake focused the intensity of the curse upon Haiti. But after the devastation of the curse, what remains is the beautiful image of the body of Christ.

The polished and materialistic wrapper of religion is removed and the living, breathing, active people of God empowered by His Spirit remain to bring glory, honor and praise to the name of Jesus Christ.

There is a frantic global effort to address HIV AIDS. But any efforts to erradicate AIDS will only prolong the inevitable - death - not just death but spiritual death - separation from the Life Giver. ARVs, money, orphanages, nutrition are all an effort to bring a slice of heaven to earth so that people will want to join God in His kingdom. If they never experience a little heaven in the middle of the curse, they will never thirst for heaven, but instead some other vain thing or idol.

Our job is to get back down to the level of the curse and look at it, see it, smell it, taste it and grieve over it. In the midst of the grief, we can bring the glory and hope of Jesus Christ by caring, listening and comforting. We bear the image of God. We bear His Word. We bear the Spirit of God. We bear the hope of Eternity. We bear the name above all names - Jesus Christ. We are His ambassadors, His priesthood, His body, His bride, His family, His rulers, His hands and His voice.

This trip will scrape the scab off of our hardened hearts and help expose us to the groaning creation as it waits for the redemption of Christ."

We will be hosting vision trips on the part of two churches in January and March of 2011. God is raising up individuals with specific professional and individual gifting that we so desperately need for the counsel they will be able to offer us. More importantly these people will be going with a right heart, committed to finding the real pulse of the Zimbabwean reality.

Each of these individuals is as much a part of the team as is any individual on the front lines.

"The Real Answer to Poverty"

It is gratifying to place some unobtainable thing in an open outstretched hand, but is that what addressing poverty means?

The nature, or symptom of poverty can be addressed externally by the giving of what a person lacks, but the cause of poverty runs at a much deeper level.

To the extent that projects transform situations, they do so at an external, unsustainable level.

Something else, something much more fundamental, something much more basic to real human need is required to bring real, long lasting, systemic transformation on the inside … at the heart of who a person really is, where the spring of well being is found.

Dr Myers, interviewed here, says the answer is found in transformed relationships. A transformed relationship with God and one’s personal situation, transformed relationships within community, with those called “others,” with the environment, and with one’s self will transform a person.

That transformation will result in an outcome that does not need much money at all to get something successful going, because a person so transformed becomes an active participant rather than a passive recipient.

That person begins to act out his role as a person with something to contribute, working for change, instead of sitting passively hoping to be given something for nothing or by being found in the grip of some kind of fatalism.

Dr. Myers makes the point that “Projects don’t transform people. People transform people. It is relationships that are transformational.”

I invite you to invest ten minutes of your time and listen to this excellent Poverty Unlocked interview.

Wendy McMahan interviews Dr. Bryant Myers, professor of Transformational Development at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Previously, Dr. Myers served at World Vision International as Vice President for International Program Strategy.

An author and leading voice in his field, Dr. Myers is Professor of Transformational Development at Fuller Theological Seminary. Previously he served at World Vision International as Vice President for International Program Strategy.

"June 2010 Up-Date"

June Newsletter 2010

"Myth or Reality?"

The more we learn about HIV/AIDS, the more we realize how much is still to be learned about the virus and the ultimate breakdown of the body’s immune system it triggers.

We also hear of things that seem to make sense on the surface, but perhaps need closer and possibly more scientific investigation to understand more completely.

When we were in Kenya in 2008, we visited an infant orphanage. We saw and held a healthy looking baby that had been rescued, after having been abandoned in a toilet immediately after birth. We were told that the infant tested HIV positive, but it’s HIV status had been reversed with nothing more than tender loving care and healthy nutrition. We were told that there is a window of opportunity in the case of infants born HIV positive where the infection can be reversed by this means alone.

We have tried to seek further confirmation of this, and have struggled to reconcile what we saw and heard with what we learn about HIV infection and detection. The following quote was helpful in this regard.

“When a new baby is born to an HIV-infected mother, there is no immediate way to know whether the baby is infected with the virus. This is because if the mother is infected, an ELISA test (which checks for HIV antibodies in the blood) will almost always be positive, too. Babies will have their HIV-infected mother's antibodies (which are passed to the baby through the placenta) even if they are not truly infected with HIV. These babies may remain HIV-antibody-positive for up to 18 months after birth, even if they are not actually infected.

Infants who are not actually infected with the virus (but are born to HIV-positive mothers) will not make their own antibodies; the HIV antibodies that came from their mothers will gradually disappear from their blood before they reach 2 years of age. Any blood tests performed after this point will likely be HIV-negative. Infants who are infected with HIV from their mothers will begin to make their own HIV antibodies and will generally remain HIV-positive after 18 months of age.

The most accurate diagnosis of HIV infection in early infancy comes from tests that show the presence of the virus itself (not HIV antibodies) in the body. These tests include an HIV viral culture and PCR (polymerase chain reaction), a blood test that looks for the DNA of the virus.

Older kids, teens, and adults are tested for HIV infection by an ELISA test to detect the presence of HIV antibodies in the blood. Antibodies are specific proteins that the body produces to fight infections; HIV-specific antibodies are produced in response to infection with HIV. Someone with antibodies against HIV is said to be HIV-positive. If the ELISA test is positive, it is always confirmed by another test called a Western blot. If both of these tests are positive, the patient is almost certainly infected with HIV.”

The above quote taken from http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/std/hiv.html#

What we can say without fear of contradiction, is that loving tender care of infants and young children, coupled with a steady diet of healthy food, does make a world of difference. That's good enough motive for us to lavish love on them and work towards providing them with what they need.

"Compelled ..."

Jesus told the pharisees that the "weightier provisions of the law" are justice, mercy and faithfulness. This is the message that compels the ZITA Alliance in North America and ANESU Partnership in Zimbabwe.

We are compelled to demonstrate Justice, Mercy and Faithfulness because we have received Justice, Mercy and Faithfulness.

The Apostle Paul spoke of being compelled by the love of God. God's love for us, compels us to demonstrate God's love to children at risk and people infected, affected and at risk by HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe. We are grateful for our global partners who are joining hands and hearts with us in Jesus' name.

"At the cross you beckon me, you draw me gently to my knees ... And I am lost for words, so lost in love ... I'm sweetly broken, wholly surrendered."

"The Lazarus Effect"

With the previous U.S. presidential administration’s plan, PEPFAR, coming under negative scrutiny, funds for Anti Retroviral Drugs (ARV’s) are beginning to run short. This shortage hi-lights the significance of alternative efforts at ARV funding.

The HBO documentary, The Lazarus Effect, is good news if the money being raised is actually getting to the people who need it.

If what Damisa Moyo says in her book, Dead Aid, is right, massive amounts of foreign aid flowing into Africa are not reaching their intended target. Most is being misappropriated and almost as much is ending up in private Swiss bank accounts.





In his article, “At Front Lines, AIDS War Is Falling Apart,” Donald G. McNeil Jr. of the New York Times, wrote, “The last decade has been what some doctors call a ‘golden window’ for treatment. Drugs that once cost $12,000 a year fell to less than $100, and the world was willing to pay.

In Uganda, where fewer than 10,000 were on drugs a decade ago, nearly 200,000 now are, largely as a result of American generosity. But the golden window is closing.

Uganda is the first country where major clinics routinely turn people away, but it will not be the last. In Kenya next door, grants to keep 200,000 on drugs will expire soon. An American-run program in Mozambique has been told to stop opening clinics. There have been drug shortages in Nigeria and Swaziland. Tanzania and Botswana are trimming treatment slots, according to a report by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders.”

Two main factors are contributing to this crisis:

With so much money being spent on other things by wealthy nations, (three trillion dollars on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for instance) the first is tragic enough. It has to do with the effect on traditional donors triggered by the global recession.

The second contributing factor is even more tragic. There is a growing sense, lead by key components of the present USA administration, that more lives will be saved by fighting other, cheaper diseases.

As DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. points out, “Even as the number of people infected by AIDS grows by a million a year, money for treatment has stopped growing.”

McNeil goes on to report, “Under its new Global Health Initiative, the Obama administration has announced plans to shift its focus to mother-and-child health. The AIDS budget was increased by only 2 percent.

The British government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also said they would focus support on mother-child health.

‘The political winds have changed,’ said Sharonann Lynch, chief author of the Doctors Without Borders report. ‘And I don’t believe for a minute it’s just the economic downturn. I think world leaders feel the heat is off and they’re fatigued’.”

Dr. Natasha Astill is a British AIDS specialist working at a remote hospital in Uganda.

She is quoted as saying, “It makes me angry. It feels horrible. Sometimes you wonder if you’re doing people favors. You start them on drugs, you give them hope, and then you’re not sure you can keep it up. We all knew these drugs are for life.” (Mc Neil’s article refers)

No completely adequate alternative to modern ARV’s is available, but we are taking every opportunity to investigate and deploy whatever comes to hand.

We’ve discovered that a combination of a powder made from the leaves of what is known as the Miracle Tree, when combined with daily ingestion of a relatively inexpensive antibiotic, is proving effective in combating the effects of HIV.

Moringa powder provides 69% protein, 3 times as much iron as found in spinach, 4 times the vitamin ‘A’ (beta carotene) found in carrots, 4 times the calcium in milk, 2 times the protein found in milk, 3 times the potassium found in bananas, 7 times the vitamin ‘C’ found in oranges, it has 18 amino acids, including the 8 essential amino acids necessary for the body’s survival but which the body cannot synthesize itself. Moringa also has plenty of omega 3 oils and chlorophyll (which changes acids into alkaline), plus 46 compounds that have antioxidant properties. Moringa can help reduce bad cholesterol and triglycerides, help control blood sugar, and has 36 properties with anti-inflammatory substances, many of which are anti-cancer agents.

Co-trimoxazole (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole) is a widely available, low-cost antibiotic that’s used in developing countries with limited resources to treat and prevent common infections. In HIV infection, it’s highly effective for treating and preventing against pneumonia and Isospora belli – a human intestinal disease as well as bacterial infections. The antibiotic has anti-malarial properties and also reduced the occurrence of malaria by 26 per cent.
As critical as treatment is, encouraging the decline in new infections is even more important. By the same token, the present up-surge in new infections is something we cannot ignore.
The ABC approach pioneered in Uganda has come under the influence of Western thinking to the point where recent gains in combating new infections are being reversed.
Uganda was "winning the war." They were in the vanguard of meaningful response that was led by the president and his wife. That response put a high premium on abstinence, and had a significant impact in the numbers of new infections.

A significant global shift is underway, however, that is being driven by the wonderful sounding catch-phrase, "Human Rights," but behind the shift is concerted activism from the women's rights and gay rights communities in the West. They argue that the approach in Africa was patriarchal, and stepped on the rights of individuals to express their sexual freedoms the way they wanted to.

Amazingly, the Western view is impacting the global response to the predicament in the global South in a way that is actually reversing the gains that have been made and plunging Africa's people back into a desperate situation.

Miss HIV, an excellent documentary put out by Ethnographic Media (EGM) speaks well to this issue.

Edward C.Green, PH.D. (Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies) said, “We have a different kind of epidemic in the United States. HIV cases are mostly concentrated among a few high-risk groups, but in Africa, most HIV is found in the general population.

Western ideology for AIDS took center stage in 1986, when the World Health Organization established a special program headed by Jonathan Mann, M.D., MPH. He believed the tragedy of AIDS brought with it an historic opportunity. Knowing how AIDS had brought more discrimination for gays in the United States, he successfully placed the struggle of discrimination into the foundation of global AIDS policies. And in 1992, the World Health Assembly resolved that ‘There is no public rationale for any measures that limit the rights of individuals'.”

Edward Green went on to say, "Not only is there a general indictment that we have violated trust and betrayed the people of the third world by letting our ideology get in the way, but we’ve pushed Uganda away from the model that’s worked so well. If you go to Uganda today, the emphasis is on drugs, it’s on condoms, testing … the old ABC program that put real emphasis on A & B, that involved the church, went into the schools ... it’s been largely dismantled.

The evidence is there, that we donors from the major Western agencies have been pushing Uganda in the direction of conforming with the model that we’re using everywhere else."

Edward C.Green, quoted Dr. Graham Stoneburner, who worked for the World Health organization and he immersed in the Uganda data, when he said, "History will look back on this period and say that one of the great abuses of the latter part of the twentieth century was the failure to do AIDS prevention in ways we know are affective."

Dr. Martin Ssempa Makerere (Pastor of the Community Church in Kampala and leader of “PrimeTime”, a Ugandan ministry to young adults, encouraging abstinence and marital faithfulness):

“It’s become, all about human rights … ‘My rights!’ "My right to have sex any time I want!" "It’s become a battle for the rights of the homo-sexual community ... for women’s emancipation.”

An encouraging word is that Dr Martin Piot (UNAIDS Executive Director Under Secretary General of the Unites Nations) has said, "If we don’t increase our investment in prevention, how can the world afford … from a humane perspective, from a moral perspective, from a financial and economic perspective , that every year between 4 and 5 million will become infected?"

A greater principle, however, drives those of us in the forefront of TEAM's response. It is this greater holistic principle that brings us to believe so strongly in a balanced approach to the problem that understands women's rights more in the context of sexual abuse than in terms of sexual freedom and, when confronted with gay rights activist philosophy, understands sexual rights in terms of sexual responsibility. It is a principle that recognizes that the Church has a responsibility toward those infected and affected, and must stand against stigma and discrimination and be a clear advocate both to the Church and of the Church on behalf of those caught up in the grip of the problem .

This balance is also extended in terms of realizing the pre-eminence of Biblical life transformation and life style choices that people take at the heart level. This protects these people from infection. Without a doubt, we will see that as number one priority, not just for "moral" or "spiritual" reasons, but because statistics have proven beyond doubt that it is the ONLY approach to fighting the battle that has any hope of halting AIDS in it's tracks.

ARV's are great, when available, and the ZITA Alliance will no doubt want to address the importance of stepping up to the plate to resource funding for them. But we also do what we can in the meantime, and are serious about getting HIV positive people on a the bi-part regimen of antibiotics and Moringa powder. This is proving to be very effective in keeping the CD4 count low in HIV sufferers. This, coupled with good nutrition, is where we are in many respects in our Africa response.

It really is time for the global Church to stand up and be counted. We are moved to respond out of a humble moral authority that is rooted and grounded in a heart motivation and heart conviction. This is becoming increasingly necessary for addressing issues that are dictating to the ebb and flow of secular response ... and we are not alone, both in the vertical, as well as horizontal sense.

"Compelled to Show Christ's Compassion"

We invite you to listen to what we shared with the Covenant Church family in Doylestwon, Pennsylvania recently. We were given opportunity to speak to the dynamics that are compelling us to return to Zimbabwe in response to the challenge of coordinating a national HIV/AIDS response that will work to facilitate the good work the household of faith in that nation is carrying out in the name of Christ.

"The Crocodile and the Foolish Fly"

This is something for our little friends ... you may remember this story ... told on this occasion to a terrific group of children in Doyleston, Pennsylvania.

"May 2010 Up-Date"

May Newsletter 2010

"Chenjerai's Story"

Chenjerai's Story

"April 2010 Up-Date"

Here's a brief up-date, with many thanks to our ministry partners for their faithful participation with us in this exciting endeavour.

Next month (May) will see us visiting partnering churches in the Eastern United States and being introduced to a new church family who have shown interest in the Zimbabwe HIV/AIDS vision. They've invited us to share the vision with them ... and possibly other interested church congregations in the region.

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel and look for the remaining partners God has in mind to make up the rest of our team.



April Newsletter 2010

"Zimbabwe Alliance Summit"

April 24th is going to be a great day, as a group of representatives from a number of churches gather with the Zimbabwe Alliance Task Force in Wheaton, Illinois, to celebrate the leading of the Lord thus far and prayerfully consider strategic next steps.

An Alliance is a collaborative relationship among churches, groups and individuals who commit to resourcing the realization of a shared vision.

Alliances represent a broad collaboration among the North American evangelical community working in concert with TEAM and her partners to multiply the effectiveness of ministry projects. An effective alliance provides long-term sustainability to a ministry project by providing a wide range of resources and skills.

Alliances proactively serve as advocates for TEAM's worldwide ministry projects by communicating and resourcing the vision and strategy of the project. They communicate and coordinate with the on-site field leaders.

What happens at a summit to launch an alliance?

Members and representatives of the ministry project, including the steering committee, will present to the summit attendees updated reports on the status of the work. Everyone present will participate in a time of prayer to thank the Lord for the blessings reported and to align their hearts with His is regards to the needs of the project.



ZimbabweImpactBrochure-2

"When Helping Hurts"

In the world of global compassionate response, there's a very fine line between "Helping" and "Hurting."

Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert's recent book, When Helping Hurts, is a must read for caring compassionate people who feel compelled to respond to profound human crises around the world.

In his editorial review, Joel Belz (founder of World Magazine) writes, "(Corbett and Fikkert) suggest that a comprehensively biblical worldview is essential to set things straight - a worldview that includes both individuals and systems.

In both cases - individual and systemic - the Fikkert-Corbett approach insists on dividing the process into three stages: (1) Relief, or the urgent and temporary provision of aid; (2) Rehabilitation, or the restoration of people and communities, after the 'bleeding' has stopped; and (3) Development, or the promotion of an empowering process alongside the people being helped.

'One of the biggest mistakes North American churches make - by far,' say the authors, "- is applying relief in situations where rehabilitation or development is the appropriate intervention'."

For an excellent three-part review of When Helping Hurts, see what Kevin DeYoung (a pastor from East Lansing MI) has to say at http://chalmers.org/when-helping-hurts/reviews.php

We are committed to these response principles in our facilitative relationship with local national churches in Zimbabwe and within our network of global partnerships.

"The Miracle Tree"

Read about the amazing properties of the "Moringa Tree," and watch Youtube videos (see links below) that speak of the way the various parts of the Moringa tree are being used with great success in meeting the needs of malnourished and vulnerable people.


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"A Positive Story From Zimbabwe"

Patience

"February 2010 Up-Date"

Alternative Jackson Up-date - February '10

"AIDSLINK 88"

As you have opportunity, please consider the excellent response to the issue of "When the task is too big."

Moses' comments and God's responses are so very pertinent to the lives of those of us who are engaged in HIV/AIDS response ... especially to workers on the front-lines. As you read and reflect personally, please take a moment to pray for people you know who are standing in the gap. Sometimes a combination of a sense of the enormity of the challenge and frustration over the degree to which "big bang" secular approaches seem to dull the cutting edges to the issue, can be very discouraging.


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"More Real Stories"

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"Fresh From The Front-Lines"

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"2009 UNAids Report"

There is no way that statistics can tell the whole story ... especially in parts of the world where people not only live in isolated regions but are further isolated by a deeply ingrained disinclination to talk to anyone about things that are traditional taboo. In Africa, that disinclination is very real when it comes to HIV infection and speaking to the ravages of AIDS.

In spite of this, statistics still point .. at least ... in the direction of general trends. This seems to be the case when it comes to the numbers recently reported by the UNAids assessment of the global condition with regard to HIV/AIDS.

One very fascinating trend seems to suggest that HIV infection is no longer the death sentence it once was. Well-nourished people who are able to take ARV drugs every day can contemplate a happy and productive future. Documented cases prove that it is even possible to bring a CD4 count low enough to be able to produce HIV-free families.

That is all the more reason why we need to continue to work hard to destroy stigma and contribute to sustainable improvement of human nutrition and availability of affordable anti-retroviral drugs.

There is a lot to read and take in with regard to this UNAids report. You will notice, though, that while more people are living positively with HIV than ever before, the number of new infections is on the decline. We see that as good news.


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"Real Stories From The Front-Lines"

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"AIDSLINK Newsleter January 2010"

With thanks to our partners, this is to keep readers up to date on pertinent information in the HIV/AIDS world.


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