The HIV/AIDS plight of Papua New Guinea desperately needs
practical responses...dollars and kina...to haul it past the roadblocks
of worshops and talkfests that have done little more than chronicle
what everyone already knows: that PNG is rocketing downhill in
the absence of measurable action.
The Australian AIDS Fund Incorporated has sought to highlight
the nation's HIV/AIDS plight over the years and to provide what
little assistance and advocacy within its own limited means. We
will continue to do what we can
But for Easter 2006, we asked one of the best known and loved
figures in Port Moresby, the Franciscan priest, Father Jude Ronayne-Forde,
OFM., to put together his wish list aimed at arresting the worsening
situation. We publish it with our complete endorsement: inviting
agencies and government alike to respond.
Brian Haill,
President,
The Australian AIDS Fund Inc.,
PO Box 1347,Frankston,3199,Victoria,Australia
Email: bhaill@bigpond.net.au
Fr Jude writes:
What we need! We have both “prevention” and “care”
programmes in the Archdiocese (of Port Moresby).
Prevention:
We are running a monthly “in-services” for Parish
representatives. We hope to get two things out of this programme:
the setting up of HIV/AIDS Committees in each of the Parishes
and the publication of what we will call: “Yumi na HIV Handbook”.
This will be an information book on HIV/AIDS, from a Christian
point of view, and available to the Archdiocese.
Tied up with that, we are doing other “Awareness and Prevention”
Programmes. We have one for Youth coming up in Easter week. We
would like to do another three of them this year. We would also
like to do five at Parish level.
Care:
We do caring at the Simon of Cyrene Centre, Hohola. From there
we do Home Based Care. We have an “Orphan Programme”
and run the “Bethany Hospice”.
In addition, we plan to get going, this month, in a programme
to assist PLWHA’s – “Yumi Sapot Grup”
We also have a hospital food programme.
Our wish list: (for 2006 only)
· Funding for the “Awareness and Prevention”
programmes: 8 by K4,000 = K32,000.00
· The PLWHA support group is something we have not budgeted
for. We plan to have monthly gatherings and help out with a meal,
bus-fares, a small handout of food. 9 by K500= K4,500.00.
· We could do with a bit of financial help to run Bethany
Hospice. We seem to have around 12 people there all the time.
A happy community and the only one of its kind in POM. Any assistance
would be helpful.
· I have just come from the general hospital. Sr. Elizabeth
Waken – is looking for K2,000.00 to purchase “adult
nappies” for her patients.
***********
The following is a transcript from the Radio Talk 105, given by
Father Jude on the Catholic Radio Network in Papua New Guinea
on March 28, 2006.Click
here to read.
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