World AIDS Day

The first confirmed case of AIDS in Zambia came in 1984. By 1986 17.5% of patients in the capital city tested postive for the disease. In 1987 then Zambian President, Kenneth Kaunda, announced his own son had died from AIDS. Each and every person in Zambia has been infected or affected by this pandemic.

This is not a problem only found in Zambia. The World Health Organization estimates worldwide, 33.2 million people are living with HIV. With all the information given on HIV, we watched 2.5 million people contract this disease in 2007. The fight ended for 2.1 million people in 2007 as they died from this disease. 330,000 of those that died were children under the age of 15 years.

It breaks my heart that even one person contracted the disease last year. We have the information on how this disease is spread. Quick health lesson for those of you still reading-4 bodily fluids carry the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-blood, semen, vaginal fluid, and breast milk. We have medicine that a pregnant mother can take that will greatly decrease the risk of passing HIV to a child. We understand that sharing needles, razor blades, anything that can transfer blood is dangerous. Unprotected sex opens you up to a whole host of infectious diseases as well as emotional issues.

A person's place on the map should not determine their likelyhood of contracting HIV. And yet, sadly, it seems there is a connection. Here in sub-saharan Africa, we're leading the world with 22.5 million people infected. Poverty, lack of education, and gender issues all work together to form a deadly combonation that is directly connected to this virus.

Unfortunetly I don't have solutions for all the problems our world is facing. I am doing what I can to make a difference in the place God has put me. Right now I am in a place where I can directly touch the lives of those dealing with HIV/AIDS. Do what you can, where you are, to make an impact for the better. In Chifusa Village we celebrated World AIDS Day by hosting an event at Pilgrim Church. We had dramas, dancing, sketches, teaching, and prayer. I am learning each day that behind every statistic is a person, a face, a soul, that matters deeply to our Creator. There are days that I wish the numbers were just numbers to me. And there are days that my heart aches for the daughter or son behind that number.


Join with me in prayer that God will guide us in the battle.