HIV/AIDS work is tough enough at the best of times, but when you have to travel from island to island, dealing with witchcraft and a lack of trust, the challenge is great but the opportunities greater, Kathleen Burns writes

“There is no such thing as a diseased organ in isolation; there are no diseases to treat, but only diseased men. Do not forget that you are dealing with the whole man – not only the body – not only the mind – but the man himself…you must remember that many patients come to you not only suffering from damaged bodies, but with bruised minds, lacerated consciences and broken hearts…”

Sir Sydney Smith (1953)

Escaping to the Ssese Islands

Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest freshwater lake, is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. In Uganda, AIM has been working in a group of islands on Lake Victoria called the Ssese Islands, on which I have been involved in health care ministry for the past six years, working with men, women and children who are living with HIV/AIDS.

These people live in small fishing camps; some have come to make money, but some have also come because they are escaping from the mainland. They come with “diseased bodies, with bruised minds, lacerated consciences and broken hearts” and find themselves among many others who are facing the same issues. They come to a place where sanitation and access to good health care is very poor, where witchcraft and fear of evil spirits is rife and causes people to look for help in all the wrong places. Sexual promiscuity, alcohol, drug abuse, rejection and lack of trust within the community are all things that pull people deeper into the pit of despair and hopelessness, and cause diseases such as HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) to spread quickly throughout the camps.

Healing the whole person

To date there is no cure for HIV. However, antiretroviral medications are available and can give a better quality of life to the patient and may prolong their life for many years.

In order to have ‘Christ-centred churches among all African peoples’ it is so important not only to meet the spiritual needs of people but to also address the physical and emotional needs. Health is holistic, it involves our physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. In the Gospels we read that Jesus often met the physical needs of people first, which then opened up their hearts and minds to their need for spiritual and emotional wholeness.

In order to have ‘Christ-centred churches among all African peoples’ it is so important not only to meet the spiritual needs of people but to also address the physical and emotional needs.

Over the years we have cared for many patients, many of whom have died. Last year there was a man from another religion who would often ask us, “Why do you love me so much and why do you care for a complete stranger?” In answering his questions we had the privilege of leading him to the Lord, and although he died a few months later, he died knowing that he was whole in Christ.