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Date: July 22, 2005
Contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
V: 847/742-5100 F:  847/742-6103
E-MAIL: _CoBNews@AOL.Com_ (mailto:CoBNews@AOL.Com) 
 

CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN NEWSLINE
July 22, 2005
 
AIDS/HIV BECOMES A FOCUS FOR CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN IN NIGERIA, AND  BRETHREN

MISSION WORKERS
 
By Bob and Carol Krouse
 
July 22, 2005 (Elgin, IL) -- If we had to name the one area of our work  that

we find most compelling, we'd have to say it is our work with the HIV/AIDS  
ministry of Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in 

Nigeria). HIV/AIDS is endemic throughout Africa. Millions of African men, 
women,	and children are infected with the virus, and, with few exceptions,
that 
number	continues to grow.
 
Fortunately, the problem of AIDS isn't as bad in Nigeria as it is in some  
African nations where 30 percent of the population is infected. Nevertheless,
 
HIV/AIDS is still a huge problem in Nigeria. According to government 
statistics,  5 to 12 percent of Nigeria's population is infected with
HIV/AIDS. That 
means  that between 6 and 15 million Nigerians are infected. Far too many 
Nigerians are  either infected, afflicted, or affected by the disease.
 
In December 2004, we were asked to work with EYN's HIV/AIDS committee in  
developing a strategic plan to launch an HIV/AIDS ministry. Ten of us, two  
Nigerians, two Swiss, and two Americans, met for three exhausting days at EYN
 
headquarters in early December to hammer out a plan that will unfold over the
 
next three years. The plan endeavors to:
 
--Develop an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign through education, communication,  
and information;
 
--Create an HIV/AIDS action team that will take a program of music and	drama

to EYN congregations hoping to lessen the stigma and raise the awareness  of 
HIV/AIDS;
 
--Train 4,000 volunteers to provide HIV/AIDS education and a support  network

in each of EYN's more than 1,000 congregations;
 
--Offer HIV screening in all EYN dispensaries and pre- and post-test  
counseling;
 
--Provide access to affordable antiretroviral drugs; 
 
--Encourage a biblical model of marriage and family; and 
 
--Empower victimized women by promoting gender equality.
 
Our vision is to have an HIV/AIDS-free generation built upon the foundation  
of solid, healthy families that will create a strong, secure society. Carol 
and  I feel that our work with the EYN HIV/AIDS committee could be the most  
significant thing that we do during our sojourn in Nigeria. 
 
The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to  
continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its
faith  in 
community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith  
traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates its
 300th 
anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United	
States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Brazil, the  
Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.
 
--Bob Krouse is the Church of the Brethren mission coordinator in Nigeria,  
working for the General Board's Global Mission Partnerships. Carol Krouse  
provides nursing care at a women's clinic, counsels women who have
reproductive  
and other health issues, and is a speaker for HIV/AIDS awareness events.
 
# # #
 
For more information contact:
 
Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
Director of News Services
Church of the  Brethren General Board
1451 Dundee Ave.
Elgin, IL 60120
847-742-5100  ext. 260
_cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org_ 
(mailto:cbrumbaugh-cayford_gb@brethren.org) 
 
*****************************************************************
The  Church of the Brethren Newsline is produced by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford,

 director of news services for the Church of the Brethren General Board. 
Newsline  stories may be reprinted provided that Newsline is cited as the
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