HIV/AIDS

The Catholic Church and the Bible Societies work together to bring hope and comfort through programs such as Where it the Good Samaritan Today?
 
View a video of the Good Samaritan program at work.
 
View a photo gallery of the Good Samaritan program.
 
“When you are told that you are HIV-positive it’s like experiencing a terrible earthquake where you stand alone on the ruins of what was once your life,” says Immaculée Muhawe, a Rwandan mother. Immaculée is one of an estimated 22.5 million people in sub-Saharan Africa living with HIV (source: unaids.org). “Two things saved me from despair: friends I could talk to openly and my rediscovery of the promises in God’s Word,” she adds. Both these ingredients form part of the Where is the Good Samaritan Today?, a Bible-based HIV/AIDS education initiative developed by the Bible Societies and run in partnership with Churches in many African countries. The program uses Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan to challenge people’s prejudices against those with the virus and encourage them to have compassion. It also uses Scripture to guide people towards moral sexual behaviour. “The Churches are very positive about this program, which is widely accepted because of its sound biblical content,” says Lijalem Adane, a Bible Society volunteer in Ethiopia. The program was launched in Ethiopia in 2005 in a high-profile ceremony attended by the country’s President and many different Church leaders. In Cameroon, the Catholic Church is a key partner in the Good Samaritan program. Sister Clémentine Ngong ministers to people with HIV and AIDS orphans in the Archdiocese of Bafoussam and runs Good Samaritan workshops. “It has helped me so much, both personally and in my pastoral responsibilities,” she says.