Stage 3: Facilitating action/acting Helper's goal: Facilitating action
5.5 Concluding Remarks
The writer feels that, whilst suffering is an accepted part of life, so too should caring be accepted as part of it. The HIV/AIDS pandemic creates the kind of opportunity to show compassion to those infected and affected by AIDS. Kirkpatrick expands on this call as calling it a people's ministry,
The Church is expected to be a 'people's ministry' to all the people of God, and especially to the marginalised, the sick, the suffering
99 and those who suffer with them.Itis expected to support those
involved in pre-bereavement and bereavement counselling (Kirkpatrick 1988:97).
Kirkpatrick shares the same views that Christian must consider, in every situation, to do what Jesus would have done. In N/R there is this opportunity for the church to engage in people's ministry.
Indian families have a track record of being closely bonded together in times of struggle. If one member has a need, the family steps in to assist. This has its advantages and disadvantages. In the HIV/AIDS issue, the advantages can be seen in that there is always a family support system. Unlike the situation in India, here in South Africa an infected person can go to family for help. It also has its disadvantages. The family can be secretive about HIVIAIDS, because of the stigma attached. They will live in denial and refuse to break the silence. This was why, in this research, the statistics of AIDS among Indians were so difficult to obtain.
Indians will not disclose their status. Like Leila's family, Indians may eventually be pressured to break the silence. Otherwise the pandemic will take its toll.
In N/R, HIVIAIDS counselling must be directed to help families to accept their HIVIAIDS status and to break the silence. People infected and affected by the HIVIAIDS need to be accepted and loved by their families, by friends and by members of their community. The family and friends can help ensure that a nutritious diet is followed. The church is a community project. From their
community the PLWA's will need to be assisted with home-based care to help them live longer and more comfortably. The clergy need to counsel others for pre- test and post-test depression, and spiritual needs such as repentance, forgiveness, guilt, shame and loss of will to live. The clergy are required to educate their members to respond as Jesus would have done to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The victims will need friends to help them overcome loneliness and despair. ".. .good counselling assists people to make informed decisions, to cope better with their health condition, lead more positive lives, and prevents further transmission ofHIV" (AJNM 2001: 7.1).
The silence, denial and lack of ministry by the church have been shown to be a pastoral concern. The church in N/R needs to provide a healing ministry. While this is not what we see at present in N/R, it is of great concern to those who are perishing.
It has been shown that the church has moved away from ministries that demonstrate concern and care. The stigma attached to the HIV/AIDS pandemic forces the Indian dominated churches of N/R also to move in denial, silence and failure to provide a haven for sufferers. Unless some sort of transformation takes place in N/R, the HIV/AIDS pandemic could penetrate deeper into this society and result in alarming numbers of deaths, which could be avoided if the church acted promptly.
Medical institutions concern themselves with treatment for sufferers. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has highlighted a need for everyone to join the struggle to combat this virus. Again, sound moral teaching through the church would empower its members
to practice safe sex. In this the Christian standpoint would be to be faithful to one's spouse and to abstain from pre-marital sex. The church relies on the biblical teaching about marriage, i.e. of one husband to one wife. The church must discourage all forms of immorality.
In this chapter we have seen that the situation in N/R can change. The Christian Indians are being infected and affected by the HIVIAIDS pandemic. It has become apparent that Christians, clergy and the church could play a role in removing the myth and replacing it with positive counselling and care. It has been shown that pastoral counselling and care could lighten the plight of the sufferers and alleviate their suffering.
People infected and affected by the HNIAIDS pandemic need to be accepted and loved by their families, friends and members of their community. The family and friends can help ensure that a nutritious diet is followed. From their community the PLWA's will need to be assisted with home-based care to help them live longer and more comfortably. From the clergy they will need to be counselled for pre-test and post-test depression, and spiritual needs such as repentance,forgiveness,guilt, shame and loss of will to live. The clergy will be required to educate their members to respond as Jesus would to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.