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Prayer and practical support for
victims
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| Children in Henan Province, China. Photo: China Partnership (PRC05DJ-4.JPG) |
CHINA — Shang Quan is an insignificant village in China’s most populous province, Henan. Here alone, though, there are some 30 children who have been orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is sweeping China. There are many more like them in villages throughout the country.
Last year, Zhang Liwei, the Deputy General Secretary of the Amity Foundation, which partners the United Bible Societies (UBS) in the Amity Printing Company, wrote in the Amity Newsletter:
“Cases [of HIV infection] are increasing at such a dramatic rate that the worst estimates put the number of infected people at 10 million by the end of the year 2010 if the current situation remains uncontrolled.”
Taboo
Fortunately, China’s authorities have begun to realise the importance of HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives. At the same time, the taboo surrounding the condition is beginning to be broken down. But life remains very hard for those affected: people like Shang Quan’s HIV/AIDS orphans and those in their village who are living with the condition. When he visited the village in May with leaders from the Henan Provincial Christian Council, UBS China Partnership Coordinator Kua Wee-Seng gained a first-hand insight into their plight.
He heard how, in many cases, people had contracted HIV/AIDS as a result of selling their blood to earn money to pay their children’s school fees when, as regularly happens in this part of Henan, the fields flood and crops fail. The people who go from village to village buying blood, known as ‘blood snakeheads’, use unsterilised needles which can spread infection quickly. This form of transmission affects Christians and non-Christians alike, and at Shang Quan’s church Wee-Seng met 15 HIV/AIDS-infected Christians.
“I was moved by the plights of these our brothers and sisters as I listened to them,” he says. “In response, we shared words of exhortation with them, reminding them of the Lord as the Good Shepherd who will be with them as they walk through the valley of the shadow of death. We prayed for them and assured them that we will share their needs with the wider Christian communities.”
Ease the plight
Henan Christian Council has now launched a number of practical initiatives designed to ease the plight of people like these. Families impoverished as a result of HIV/AIDS infection are receiving visits, for example, while those who are no longer able to sustain themselves through growing crops are being provided with pigs to rear and urban churches are being encouraged to raise funds to meet the basic needs of HIV/AIDS orphans. With support from the Amity Foundation, which launched an HIV/AIDS prevention program in Yunnan Province as long ago as 1996, the Council has been able to establish an HIV/AIDS prevention training scheme in this area too. So far, around 130 Christian volunteers have been trained to deliver HIV/AIDS-awareness talks and information-sharing sessions about HIV/AIDS prevention. The Council has also asked UBS to provide Scripture resources for this scheme and for distribution among those living with HIV/AIDS.
Healing
“Pray for all those who are infected with HIV/AIDS, that they may experience the peace, grace, love and presence of our Lord in the midst of their suffering,” asks Wee-Seng. “May they also experience healing and help. Pray for the children who are affected by the epidemic, especially those who have lost their parents to AIDS. Pray for the Church and UBS as we respond to their needs and help prevent their spread of the virus.”
For more information about HIV/AIDS education initiatives in China, see World Report 391/6.
This report refers to project ASO011. (WR 397/21 - 11.05) [4 photos]