WCRP/HIVAN Forum - Screening and Discussion of "What Can I Do?"

The film What Can I Do? ?– The HIV/AIDS Ministry and Messages of Gideon Byamugisha (2004) was launched in November 2005 at a HIVAN/WCRP Forum for faith communities and HIV/AIDS practitioners in Durban. The event was hosted in partnership with the Strategies For Hope project and the Durban Christian Centre?’s Hope Centre Clinic.

The Strategies for Hope Series was founded in 1989 by the British NGO, ActionAid, to promote informed, effective, community-based approaches to HIV/AIDS, gender and sexual health, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. It has produced 16 books and five videos, as well as the Stepping Stones training package, all of which have been distributed to over 160 countries. These materials are used for information, training, planning and advocacy purposes by a wide range of organisations and individuals, including health institutions, NGOs, community groups, international agencies, FBOs, employers?’ associations, trade unions, women?’s groups, youth associations and organisations of people living with HIV/AIDS.

What Can I Do? is a documentary film about the experiences of Canon Gideon Byamugisha, an ordained minister from Uganda who was the first priest in Africa to acknowledge and live openly with his HIV-positive status. His story is a revelation for everyone, whether working in FBOs or more general audiences, since it demonstrates how judgemental the attitudes of many Christian churches are, and how love, support and hope, rather than fear, should be spread in dealing with the realities of HIV and AIDS.

Paddy Meskin of the WCRP introduced the screening by noting the growth in volume and diversity of the HIVAN/WCRP 2005 Forum Series programme, and welcoming the contribution of the SFH film via the Hope Centre to this last session of the year. ?“Around 1980, when most cases of HIV were diagnosed, the attitude of many religious leaders was: ?‘You have sinned, you?’re being punished?’,?” she said. ?“We forgot about the fact that all the sacred texts in every religion caution us not to judge others, lest we be judged, that there is only One Judge. Because of the condemnation meted out as part of a theology of ?‘sin and punishment?’, those who became infected suffered even more than they should have. Compassion and caring are the approaches seen to be the most effective, so our attitudes need to transform in accordance with this understanding.?”

The 49-minute film What Can I Do? tells the life-story of Canon Gideon, a kind, caring role-model who has devoted his life and ministry as an HIV-positive priest to inspiring all in his sphere. Having established a very popular and effective AIDS Club at the diocese in Kampala, he encourages open dialogue and sharing of accurate information among leaders and members of his church about sex, sexuality and sexual health. The messages he conveys are varied, covering the public health, cultural and religious aspects of the epidemic.

Canon Gideon is particularly concerned to generate an understanding of abstinence as a prevention intervention, observing that many young women were virgins when they married, but became infected at their first sexual encounter. He notes that 61% of all HIV-positive women in Africa have never had sex with more than one man: ?“They?’ve waited, been faithful, but are still HIV-positive.?”

He does not agree with the formulaic ?“A-B-C?” prevention concept, which he feels is too simplistic: ?“It implies that if one is faithful, one cannot get HIV, and that?’s just not true. Both partners must be tested for HIV, and if both are negative, fidelity is even more important. Condom use is problematic, because condoms are equated with infidelity and promiscuity, the inability to be pure.?” He explains that this is especially evident to him personally when he purchases condoms in a shop while wearing his clerical collar, so he uses these occasions as opportunities to share information about HIV and AIDS to those around him.

Canon Gideon?’s congregants now understand that condoms can save lives by preventing re-infection among people who have never been tested for HIV and are unaware of their status, and preventing the conception of HIV-positive children. He gives examples of the differentiation between sexual unions that are ?“unlawful?” and unsafe?”, ?“lawful and unsafe?”, ?“unlawful and safe?”, and ?“lawful and safe?”, all of which are subject to and the cause of HIV/AIDS-related stigma. ?“Adultery, fornication and prostitution are three major transgressions,?” he says, ?“but with AIDS in our lives, these have become even more serious because they can result in murder and suicide too.?”

Once he had announced his status publicly, the call for Canon Gideon to speak out across the world escalated. When he fell ill with opportunistic infections, he came to know the importance of psychological support in deflecting the onset of AIDS. After he took anti-retroviral drugs, he gained weight to 76kg, and his CD4-cell count rose to over 700, but he maintains that emotional and spiritual support is just as if not more crucial than medicines. ?“Words of support are the greatest gift ?– the assurance that you are still loved ?– to give to someone with HIV, before treatment or money.?” He recalled what his counsellor had asked him when he was diagnosed: ?“Man of God, what are you going to do??” He had replied: ?“I don?’t know, but I know that the God that made me will show me what to do.?”

Canon Gideon decided to be open about his status to as many people as possible, and felt blessed that all his family members were supportive, urging him to be strong. When he disclosed to his Bishop, the two men prayed together and the Bishop suggested that Canon Gideon create an AIDS programme for the diocese. ?“But stigma is very deep,?” he says. ?“There is self-stigma, when one wonders ?“Maybe they think ?…?’, and the other question is about how I got it [HIV]. My response to self-stigma is that I am not an accident on Earth ?– I am a product of God. As for how one becomes infected, there is any number of ways - we can?’t know in every case. What is more important is what to do once one knows one is HIV-positive. When you know your status, you become more understanding of the disease and less judgemental of other people.?”

Canon Gideon is admired by his church colleagues, who, through his guidance, have realised that their ministry makes a tangible difference to people?’s wellbeing. They regard his teaching as more than mere awareness-raising, as it also involves skills training on how to prevent transmission and care for the infected, and the types of services needed.

The full report can be downloaded on the righthand side of this page.