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Bishop
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| Bishop Martin Nyaboho, who presides over the Makamba diocese of the Anglican Church. Photo: UBS/Francois Sieberhagen (BUR06DJ-205.JPG) |
BURUNDI — “Have you been tested, Bishop?” a member of the congregation asked Bishop Martin Nyaboho after he had delivered a sermon on voluntary testing for HIV/AIDS.
Bishop Nyaboho, 52, the presiding Bishop for the Makamba diocese of the Anglican Church, is a very dynamic and progressive pastor. He describes with great pride how he once worked as a translator for the Bible Society in Burundi. “That was long ago. I stopped working as a translator in August 1988. At that time we were working on a Common Language Bible.”
He is very outspoken when it comes to HIV/AIDS. “We, the Church, have been in denial for too long. We have a problem and the political situation is to blame for that. The war, poverty and the influx of peacekeeping forces contributed to the spread of the disease. Makamba is situated only 165 kms from Bujumbura, and we had women coming here at weekends to meet with the soldiers. This has had a very bad impact on the moral fibre of our people.
“I am in charge of a diocese which consists of 165,000 members, 18 parishes, 152 local congregations, 22 priests and 152 evangelists. It is a daunting task. I am also aware that in our area the infection rate is high. Around 16.8 per cent of people around here are infected. Further away from Makamba the figure is much lower, around 8.6 per cent.
Abstinence and fidelity
“I have appointed an HIV/AIDS Coordinator, Claire Hategeimana, who is overseeing all the HIV/AIDS work in the diocese. She attended the Good Samaritan training last year and is using the material very effectively.
“We need to talk about abstinence and fidelity. Young people must be taught that it is worth their while to wait before they engage in sex. They must be taught the value of being faithful to your spouse.
“I had myself tested, twice, just to be sure. I then challenged the pastors in my diocese. The sad thing is they are too scared to go for voluntary testing. I am not sure why. I have challenged the local congregation and that was when a lady stood up and asked me if I had been tested. When I confirmed that I had, they were shocked and then applauded me. I asked them to go and make sure of their status.
“Our children need guidance and counselling.
That is why I appreciate the work that the Bible Society has done by
running the Good Samaritan program. It is relevant and it discusses
the issues honestly. In our culture, people do not talk about sex. This
needs to change if we want to secure the future of young people.
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| Worshippers outside the Anglican church in Makamba. Photo: UBS/Francois Sieberhagen (BUR06DJ-255.JPG) |
“Now that peace has come the infection rate may go down, but it also might increase. All that we can do is to continue preaching the message and empowering people to turn away from their sinful ways.”
Mrs Hategeimana, a trained nurse, shares the Bishop’s views.
“We are running a program of educating children through visits to schools. We are also involved in income-generating programs for people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. We are concentrating on young people and women. We are planning to run a Good Samaritan workshop for them in the near future.”
She is very excited about the impact the booklets are making. “The people appreciate the books a lot because they are gaining knowledge. People from other churches are asking me for booklets, but we don’t have enough. I just tell them to share the booklet after they have read it. It is really making an impact.
“The other very important thing that has happened is that people want to know their status. This happens every time somebody has read the booklet. People are going for voluntary testing now. I am excited about that because it is the first step in fighting the disease.
“My work is very emotionally demanding, but it has created an opportunity for the Church to make a difference in people’s lives. We thank God for that. We have only one challenge: to make enough materials available.”
This report refers to projects 73103 and 73112. (WR 403/7 - 07.06) [4 photos]