‘Good Samaritan program forced me to confront my own attitudes’

BURUNDI — Pastor Aniset Ndikuryo, 43, of the Grace Bible Church in Bujumbura is very enthusiastic about the potential of the Good Samaritan program run by the Bible Society in Burundi.

“I am a part-time pastor with this church and a full-time accountant with Global Trauma Healing. I received my first degree in accounting and after that I was called to lead a congregation. This congregation was only established six months ago, but we already have 40 members.

Real compassion

“I was invited to attend the Good Samaritan training, and decided to accept the invitation because I wanted to learn more about HIV/AIDS. The training forced me to confront my own attitudes. I discovered to my shame that I was lacking real compassion.

“Christians are called to care for those in need. We are not always aware of the needs of the people in our immediate surroundings or congregations. The Good Samaritan training helped me to understand how much people need care and compassion. We sometimes forget to be compassionate.

“The Good Samaritan program is a very effective program for the Church because it helps us to look at care and prevention from a biblical perspective. We have struggled with other programs that only want to promote the use of condoms. Prevention is not about condoms alone.

“I have applied my training by using it with the youth groups in my own and other churches. I have even used it in my own household with my extended family. I have seven family members living with me, in addition to my wife and three kids.

“I give the Good Samaritan books to people who come to see me in my office. They find the content very informative and appropriate. People are asking for training. They would also like to be trained to use the material. I hope the Bible Society will assist us in setting up training opportunities for members of our church and for other people.”

He has already acted as a facilitator at a youth training session. “I was helping at a training session for university students and was impressed by how they responded to the material. They were prepared to take on the responsibility to act as Samaritans to those who had been infected and affected.

Discuss the issues

“And we as churches need to use this material, too. We need to meditate and discuss the issues. People need to share their experiences, because we don’t necessarily share the same education and social background.

“Some pastors are in denial about HIV/AIDS, but this program will really sensitise them and educate them. There is no excuse for ignorance, the program is available, and they just need to be exposed to all the information. I hope the Bible Society will help to build capacity for pastors. They are leaders, they need to be empowered.”

This report refers to projects 73103 and 73112. (WR 403/8 - 07.06) [2 photos]