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Deacons take hope, medicine to Zimbabwe

Oct. 20, 2005

NOTE: A photograph is available at http://umns.umc.org.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - A caravan of United Methodist deacons,
searching for a site for an AIDS treatment project, personally
confronted the needs of those suffering from the disease.

"I see the poverty, the problems, the lack of supplies, and yet I see a
difference being made in people's lives," said the Rev. Anita Kreuger,
one of six deacons who visited hospitals and clinics in Zimbabwe. The
trip was made possible by an emerging-ministry grant and a caravan grant
from the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

The team which visited Zimbabwe Sept. 16-Oct. 1, gathered information
about AIDS, considered sites for Project Tariro and worked on a
partnership with Africa University for the new ministry. Project Tariro
will provide treatment and rehabilitation, as well as respite care with
home-based care for follow-up, counseling and spiritual support for
people living with AIDS.

The Tariro proposal will be completed and presented to the Africa
University Board of Directors in December. The United Methodist-related
school is near Mutare, Zimbabwe.

The team delivered more than 400 pounds of medicine, medical supplies
and clothes to clinics and hospitals in the Mutare area. Several members
of the group have worked in cross-cultural settings and with HIV/AIDS
patients.

The deacons found that the faith and hope of Zimbabweans remains strong,
even in the face of 300 percent inflation and 80 percent unemployment,
compounded by a three-year drought.

"The people are smiling and polite, gracious, and hospitable," said
Kreuger, a deacon and nurse from the New Mexico Annual (regional)
Conference. "We, as strangers, were welcomed. Even the busiest persons
gave of their time; even the poorest generously shared their little,
treating us as honored guests."

One who said she was transformed by her experiences was the Rev. Debbie
Gara, a medical social worker from the California-Pacific Conference.

"I have seen tremendous, unexplainable faith and perseverance, and
gracious hospitality, all in the midst of a poverty and economic strain
that promises no sure future but for that faith," she said. "I have seen
God as I had not known, and I will never be the same."

Accurate statistics on HIV/AIDS are unavailable, since it is seldom
listed as the cause of a death. The government claims infection is down
from 32 percent to 21 percent of the general population, but private
studies have found higher rates.

The team visited AIDS patients and home-based care programs, talked with
volunteer caregivers, and interviewed directors of various agencies,
such as the Family Aids Caring Trust and National AIDS Council, as well
as doctors and nurses.

The deacons consulted with Africa University faculty, including Peter
Fasan, dean of the faculty of health sciences, and Professor Fanuel
Tagwira, dean of the faculty of agriculture and natural resources, as
well as Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa, leader of the church in Zimbabwe.

Nhiwatiwa expressed concern that the AIDS conference coordinator
position in Zimbabwe is vacant due to lack of funds and personnel. The
coordinator educates pastors about AIDS and how they can counsel,
minister and assist people to live positively with the virus.

The team heard stories of need everywhere.

Roberta Hupprich, a United Methodist Board of Global Ministries nurse in
Zimbabwe who is about to retire, said little is done to treat people
with HIV/AIDS, to help overcome the stigma of AIDS, to improve patients'
nutrition or to help them live positively with the disease.

The Rev. Beauty Maenzanise, dean of Africa University's faculty of
theology, said the project will allow pastors in training to learn how
to counsel AIDS patients.

Tagwira said agricultural and medical students at the university could
assist, too. He saw the project as complementing the university's
proposed Africa Technology Training Center.


Tapley said the visit and project gave him renewed hope, even in the
face of much to do.

"We walked and prayed over the grounds of what we named the 'field of
hope,' with the prayer that this project will soon become a reality."

Other caravan members were the Rev. Hollie Tapley, South Georgia
Conference; the Rev. Karen Mitchell, Kansas East; and the Rev. Katia
Parades, New Mexico. The Rev. Paul Van Buren, East Ohio Conference, a
deacon and retired Board of Higher Education and Ministry staff member,
led the caravan.

Others in the group were Van Buren's wife, the Rev. Corinne Van Buren, a
deacon in the Minnesota Conference; Sam Dhlamini, a Zimbabwean living in
Great Britain; and Bobby Naylor, a businessman, construction engineer
and layman from the Tennessee Conference.

More information about the Tariro Project is available by contacting
Paul Van Buren at paulvanburen@comcast.net.

Vicki Brown, a staff member of the Office of Interpretation at the
United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, provided
information for this article.

News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

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