wfn.org | (LWF) LWF Youth Delegates Push for Open Dialogue on HIV/AIDS

["Frank Imhoff" <franki@elca.org>]

LWF Tenth Assembly, Winnipeg, Canada, 21-31 July 2003

PRESS RELEASE NO. 24

LWF Youth Delegates Push for Open Dialogue on HIV/AIDS
Moving Presentation Highlights Urgency of HIV/AIDS Crisis

WINNIPEG, Canada, 28 July 2003 - Choking back the tears, her voice quivering
with emotion, Leonie Vries from Namibia told the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) Tenth Assembly how she lost her best friend to HIV/AIDS.

The woman died of HIV/AIDS-related tuberculosis four years ago. She had been
infected by her husband, who had died two years earlier after contracting the
HIV/AIDS virus through extra-marital affairs. Their oldest child is
HIV-positive and still alive. Their second child, a little girl, lived only
up to the age of two years. The woman lingered for several years, growing
thinner and weaker, with Vries as her volunteer caregiver. Finally, only 34
years old, she died.

The Assembly audience sat in solemn, respectful silence as Vries, 22, and the
other 67 LWF youth delegates urged them to deal openly and directly with
HIV/AIDS.

"Let us fully break the silence," said James Tan of Malaysia. "Let us make
prevention a priority."

Graphically illustrating their point, youth delegates wearing black T-shirts
stood silently on stage, their mouths crisscrossed shut with masking tape.
Around their necks hung signs with the birth dates and death dates of
nameless people. At the bottom of the signs in capital letters was the line:
"Stop HIV/AIDS." Finally, on cue, the youth members removed the tape,
symbolizing open communication about the dreaded disease sweeping across many
countries.

The dramatic presentation on HIV/AIDS and homosexuality highlighted a youth
pen hearing at the LWF Assembly this morning (Monday). The hearing focused
largely on the issues of HIV/AIDS and human sexuality.

The seriousness of HIV/AIDS was powerfully illustrated when audience members
were asked to stand up. They were then told they represented the people newly
infected by HIV/AIDS throughout the world within the past hour * 570 * about
the same number as those attending the LWF Assembly. Nearly half of those who
get the disease are young people, including children.

Finally, the audience was asked to link hands in a symbol of solidarity
against the scourge of HIV/AIDS.

As one youth delegate put it: "We simply ask that we talk openly about this
issue."

Many of the LWF youth delegates earlier attended a Pre-Assembly Youth
Conference (PAYC) in Guelph, Ontario, July 11 to 20. They presented LWF
General Secretary Ishmael Noko with a collection taken at the PAYC meeting
and asked that the money be donated to HIV/AIDS prevention programs.

Noko said in an interview afterwards he took the youth delegates' message
seriously.

"The message is clear and loud," said Noko. "We have to provide space for
discussions at family levels, in confirmation class groups within the church,
and also between adults in the other generation, particularly about sexual
education."

Later, Vries said people must wake up to the reality of HIV/AIDS and the
importance of treating its victims with compassion.

"AIDS is real. It doesn't just happen to someone else. It happens to us all.
Even if you're not infected with the disease, you are affected," she said in
an interview.

"The little time that we have with one another, we should show one another
love. We should accept each other no matter what.

"It's a very lonely world if you have it and nobody wants anything to do with
you."

The LWF Assembly adopted several resolutions concerning youth. Delegates
agreed to refer to the LWF Council a PAYC recommendation that a Youth in
Church in Society secretary be hired regardless of financial consideraions.
Another resolution urging member churches to encourage the participation of
youth in their worship and decision-making processes at all levels was
passed.

The Tenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is taking place
21-31 July 2003 in Winnipeg, Canada, under the theme "For the Healing of the
World." It is being hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
(ELCIC).

There are almost 800 men, women and youth participants in the Tenth Assembly
including 369 delegates from the 133 churches with full membership and three
associate members. The Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the
LWF, and meets normally every six years. Between Assemblies, the LWF is
governed by its Council that meets annually, and by its Executive Committee. 

Further information including photos, video and audio news, is posted on the
Assembly Web site www.lwf-assembly.org

To order photographs, please contact LWF-Photo@lutheranworld.org

*	*	*

The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 136 member
churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7 million of the 65.4 million
Lutherans worldwide. 

The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest
such as ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian
assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission
and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.