wfn.org | Church World Service, Musician Tim Janis Address Africa AIDS Crisis

["Carol Fouke" <carolf@ncccusa.org>]

Church World Service/National Council of Churches News

Editor's Note: Photos are available; see contact information below.

May 30, 2002, NEW YORK CITY - A newly launched collaboration between Church
World Service and U.S. classical composer Tim Janis seeks to respond to the
HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa by addressing the social stigma, fear
and denial associated with HIV/AIDS and the shortage of resources for
prevention, testing and treatment.

Janis, with six Billboard-charting classical CDs, and a Church World Service
team just returned to the United States from South Africa - arguably the
AIDS epidemic's epicenter in Africa, with one in five adults infected.

There, CWS and Janis collaborated with the South African Council of Churches
on a benefit concert, ecumenical service and recording tour to promote the
destigmatization of AIDS and to raise funds for treatment.

"This is what the churches need to be about," said the Rev. John L.
McCullough, CWS Executive Director. "We need to ensure that all people with
HIV/AIDS are treated with dignity, respect and love. We need to be the voice
against the stigmatization of people with AIDS."

Janis' "Symphony of Hope" in Durban May 10 raised funds for the Sinikithemba
HIV/AIDS Christian Care Centre there and featured the KwaZulu-Natal
Philharmonic Orchestra, popular South African performers, and the
Sinikithemba Choir, whose members are all HIV+.

In Johannesburg May 12, in Soweto's Regina Mundi Church, Janis and his
ensemble performed with the Imilonji KaNtu Choral Society, the Soweto
community choir that sang at Nelson Mandela's inauguration as President.
Drawing about 2,000 area residents, dignitaries and businesspeople, the
Soweto event showcased the SACC's "Call to Condemn the Stigmatization of
HIV/AIDS Infected and Affected."

While in South Africa, Janis' ensemble recorded two "bonus tracks" with the
Sinikithemba and Imilonji KaNtu choirs.  The tracks will be exclusive to a
special fundraising edition of his forthcoming "A Thousand Summers" album.

The special edition, set for release this fall and available only through
Church World Service, also will include a message from Bishop Desmond Tutu
and will benefit CWS HIV/AIDS programs in Africa.  (The retail version of
the album minus the two tracks is due out in June.)

Janis' upcoming performance December 1, 2002 -- World AIDS Day  -- at The
Riverside Church in New York City will further benefit CWS' HIV/AIDS work in
Africa.

The Church World Service - Tim Janis collaboration is part of Church World
Service's multi-year initiative to address problems of health, hunger and
malnutrition, poverty and self-sufficiency across Africa.

Founded in 1946, Church World Service works in partnership with local
organizations in the United States and more than 80 countries worldwide, and
on behalf of the 36 U.S. Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican denominations
that are member denominations of the National Council of Churches. Church
World Service supports sustainable, self-help development, meets emergency
needs, aids refugees, and helps address the root causes of poverty and
powerlessness.

Benefit Concert in Durban, Ecumenical Service in Soweto

Attendees at Janis' Durban concert included a Zulu prince next in line to
the Crown of the Zulu people, American Consul Craig Kuehl and his wife Jane
Lucas of the World Health Organization, and other area dignitaries. Kuehl
thanked Church World Service for its work and partnerships in South Africa,
while Lucas echoed her own excitement and "great respect for the
organization's work and these programs."

To the Soweto event's attendees, South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma
conveyed the government's endorsement of the initiative to end the
ostracizing of people with AIDS.

At the Soweto event, CWS Regional Director William Wildey read greetings
from the Rev. John L. McCullough, CWS Executive Director.

CWS "and the Christians it represents are standing side by side with their
brothers and sisters in South Africa.

"We are deeply grateful that Tim Janis is sharing his spirit and music on
our behalf," McCullough noted. "Tim is exemplary of people around the world
who feel a sense of passion for justice and compassion for their neighbor.
His commitment to the redress of HIV/AIDS inspires all of us to do more."

McCullough and Church World Service thanked the Imilonji KaNtu Choir and the
others attending for speaking out publicly against stigmatization of people
living with AIDS. "We have gathered here today to celebrate the meaning of
our collective efforts to eliminate this terrible disease from the face of
the earth," he added.

Dr. Molefe Tsele, General Secretary of the SACC, said, "Many people living
with AIDS report that the greatest pain is not having the disease itself,
but the stigma associated with the disease." He called on the church "to
wage an onslaught against this stigma. The church needs to confess its
self-righteousness and failure to embrace their brothers and sisters living
with AIDS. AIDS is inside the church."

The ecumenical service in Soweto "would never have happened without Church
World Service and the involvement of Tim Janis," said Tsele, proclaiming the
events "extremely important in the life of the church in South Africa."

The Chairman of Eskom Reuel Khoza, major funder of the Soweto event, said "I
am happy to join forces with CWS and the SACC in an emphatic spirit against
AIDS and its stigma. I applaud Tim Janis and Imilonji KaNtu for lending
their talent to the struggle." He also "threw down the gauntlet" to other
businesses to get involved in the struggle, and they committed themselves to
donating R120 million (American $11,970,075) to health education in South
Africa.

Janis: South Africans' Hope and Courage Inspiring

Janis, who plays with the American Philharmonic Orchestra and whose "Music
of Hope" CD topped Billboard's "Top Classical Albums" last year, heard of
Church World Service's programs in Africa and of Sinikithema's support for
over 18,000 HIV+ people each year and offered to contribute his time and
talents.

Janis found the spirit of the South African people and meeting the AIDS
pandemic head-on to be a moving experience. "I came expecting to be
depressed by meeting people with HIV/AIDS," Janis adds. "However, after
working with the Sinikithemba choir, I'm inspired by their hope and
courage." Tim Janis Ensemble vocalist Ellie Kang said, "It was spiritually
moving. It was a privilege to be there and to see the church leaders, the
people living with AIDS, the choir, musicians, and all the others holding
candles and committing themselves to the war against the stigma. It was
really profound that the churches came out in support of people living with
AIDS."

During the Durban concert rehearsals, Church World Service Community
Education Specialist Tom Hampson reports one woman in the Sinikethemba Choir
began to give birth onstage. "An ambulance finally arrived," he says, "but
the child was stillborn. Half an hour later, the choir was in the recording
studio with us, rehearsing for our album.

While in Durban and Johannesburg, Church World Service representatives also
visited Egelbert, a project for abandoned AIDS infants, and accompanied
Hillsdale hospice project caregivers to visit people in advanced stages of
AIDS. "It was a very difficult day for all of us," reports Hampson.

When the CWS group visited the Rev. Beyers Naude, the leading Afrikaner
critic of apartheid and former SACC General Secretary, Dr. Naude said, "This
is a great privilege. I never expected this. Now approaching 90, with
fragile health, and unable to attend the Soweto event, he said "I wish I
could be with you later today in Soweto. It will be a life changing
experience . . . You will never forget it as long as you live. We've been
there many times before, in the times of struggle, it is an incredible
experience.

"I wish you joy during your time in Soweto and your role in South Africa.
Thank you to CWS, thank you for coming to visit us, thank you for sharing
with us. This AIDS issue is a very serious issue facing all of us," Dr.
Naude reminded his visitors. "I'm very grateful for the attention you can
draw to it. I wish you God's blessing on your time in South Africa."

CWS staff went on from South Africa to visit partner churches' work,
including HIV/AIDS work, in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

For more information about Church World Service's African HIV/AIDS projects,
and ways to support, contact: 1- (800) 297-1516, or visit the website at
www.churchworldservice.org

-end-

Media Contacts for More Info/Photos: CWS, New York: Carol Fouke, (212)
870-2252/2227; news@ncccusa.org, or Boston: Jan Dragin, (781) 925-1526,
jdragin@gis.net