Hands of compassion

Volunteers give comfort and hope to AIDS patients

Owen is thin, though not emaciated. He is too weak to do much work. When he is having a good day he can do some cooking for himself.

Owen, who lives in a village near Enukweni, Malawi, tested positive for AIDS in 2000 after his wife died from the disease. He depends on home-based care volunteers to help with the necessities of life.

Thousands of Christians across Africa serve AIDS patients as home-based care volunteers. They administer pain medications, change bandages, apply ointments, clean houses, gather firewood and cook meals. They also make sure that relatives or neighbors are looking out for the patients’ needs in between their weekly visits.

Owen, 44, is the father of seven children ranging in age from nine to 24. He worries about the education of his younger children. There are no tuition-free secondary schools and he has no money to pay tuition. His older children are now taking care of the younger ones. He knows that one day soon his children will become orphans.

He is also concerned about having enough food for his family and himself. “Food is what I need the most,” he says. AIDS ministry leaders say inadequate nutrition is a pervasive problem for AIDS patients in Africa.

The volunteers who visit Owen and other AIDS patients work through programs established by African churches. They serve both the physical and spiritual needs of patients.

“When we reach a patient’s home, we pray with them and their guardians and see what a patient needs,” says volunteer Bentry Hara, a Malawian who works in the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian’s Livingstonia Synod. “We also see if the guardian is following instructions regarding proper patient care.”

Charity Nyirenda, coordinator of home-based and orphan care in Livingstonia, says the spiritual care that volunteers provide is crucial. "We help AIDS patients know the hope of Christ," she says.

The volunteers’ commitment to Christian neighborliness is not a casual one. They attend a two-week training course where they learn the basics of AIDS patient care. Some walk 20 miles round-trip to make their visits. A few lucky ones have bicycles that they ride on rutted dirt roads, but most lack the $60 needed to purchase a two-wheeler.

In Livingstonia Synod the number of home-based care volunteers has increased tenfold during the past six years. Once volunteers are trained, part of their responsibility is to train more volunteers.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has provided vital funds for volunteer training and supplies, says Dr. Andy Gaston, a Church of Scotland mission worker who directs Livingstonia’s AIDS ministry. “In the past several years,” he says, “the PC(USA) has been our greatest supporter.”