Non-print media vital to Bible Society’s HIV/AIDS work

Pastor José Neto, Director of Trans World Radio in Angola, encouraging readers Milonga Bernardo (closest to camera) and Julieta Ramos before they start the recording of Vivendo na Esparença ('Living in Hope') in Portuguese. Pastor Augistino Mosse, the Bible Society in Angola's recently-appointed Faith Comes By Hearing coordinator (closest to the camera, standing) is looking at the script with keen interest. Luanda, Angola. Photo: UBS/Francois Sieberhagen (ANG05DJ-12.JPG)

By Francois Sieberhagen, UBS Media Consultant

ANGOLA — Staff at the Bible Society in Angola know that, in a country where illiteracy is still running at more than 50 per cent, it is essential to bring God’s Word to people in formats other than print publications. This is particularly important when attempting to reach people who are marginalised through disease or poverty, among whom illiteracy is likely to be even higher.

Eager

This is why the Bible Society has been eager to build up a set of non-print resources suitable for ministering to people with HIV/AIDS, of whom there were an estimated 240,000 in 2003. The first of these resources is the video Where is the Good Samaritan Today?, developed by Konstanse Raen, HIV/AIDS Consultant, UBS Africa Area, and already being used in a number of other countries in the region (see Focus on HIV/AIDS in World Report 390), which is now available in Portuguese. And another important resource is set to be added following the recording recently at the studios of Trans World Radio in Luanda of the Portuguese version of the Portion Living in Hope: Help From the Scriptures for Coping with HIV/AIDS. This recording is now being duplicated and will become a vital element of the Bible Society’s HIV/AIDS support package.

“With these resources, we can go to the churches and serve those who are helping people cope with HIV/AIDS,” says Executive Secretary Bernarda Manuel. “Too many people suffering from AIDS are from poverty-stricken areas and they received very little education: to be able to read is a luxury! We believe that the audio cassette will fill this gap.”