No avoiding the hard questions

Students on their feet and in animated discussion at a training seminar in Yaoundé on the Where Is the Good Samaritan Today? HIV/AIDS outreach package. Those attending are warned, that “everyone has to participate.” Photo: Norwegian BS/Dag Smemo (CAM05DJ-92.JPG)

CAMEROON — A particular area of challenge for many of the pastors and others attending the training that accompanies distribution of the Good Samaritan outreach package concerns the application of what Konstanse Raen calls “the Church’s weapon in the fight against AIDS”: A – Abstain, B – Be faithful, C – Use a condom. The trainers know there can be a difference between what students say in a classroom and what they would say in a real situation. So they throw awkward questions at the students and the answers they give are interesting...

A young man, 25, comes to see you. He says, “I practise free sex and I can’t bring myself to stop.” As a pastor what would you say to him? Would you condemn his behaviour? Or would it be wise to recommend he use a condom?

One student replied: “When we are giving advice to people we have to start with the Word of God. I would spend a lot of time with him and follow up with him over some time. But if he wasn’t interested in listening, I would have to exhort him to use a condom.”

Another said: “I can’t find one word about condoms in my Bible. If you could show me one single verse about condoms, it wouldn’t be a problem. Then I would recommend the same thing.”

When one spouse is infected, what options do they have as a couple? Should they stay together but abstain from sex? Should they get divorced? Or should they decide to use condoms? As a pastor, which course of action would you recommend?

Pastors at a seminar in Rwanda thought it was wrong to recommend the use of condoms. They all responded that the couple should get a divorce.

Some students had experienced giving help to someone asking for it, only to find that the person lied or exaggerated his plight. What are we supposed to do then, they asked.

The trainer agreed that among all the problems it could be hard to pick out the fake from the genuine.

“We have no simple answers,” she said. “But there is one thing we can say. It is a good start to be helping people if we know they are in need. Help those people out, at least. We can’t reach out to everyone, but everyone can reach out to someone.

(WR 395/11 - 08.05) [2 photos]

Cameroon stories and photos gathered by Dag Smemo (Norwegian Bible Societies). Registered users of the UBS Intranet can view all the photos gathered by Mr Smemo on his trip in the Image Gallery section.