The Soul Beat 177 - Involving Faith-based Communities
In this issue of The Soul Beat:
- Information about FAITH-BASED HIV COMMUNICATION...
- More on Soul Beat Africa's HIV/AIDS THEME SITE...
- HEALTH COMMUNICATION AND FAITH experiences and resources...
- SEARCHING SOUL BEAT AFRICA for more information...
- Faith communities ADRESSING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN...
- Faith RESPONSES TO PEACEBUILDING AND EMERGENCIES
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This issue of The Soul Beat presents experiences, thinking and resources from and about faith-based communication for development, focusing on HIV/AIDS, health, violence against women and children, and peacebuilding and emergencies.
FAITH-BASED HIV COMMUNICATION
1. HIV and AIDS Advocacy & Media Relations: Handbook and Training Manual for Religious Leaders
By James Cairns, Jane Gaithuma, and Andrea Louie (eds)
Published by Religions for Peace, this 62-page training manual and 51-page handbook were produced to be used together to strengthen the advocacy and media relations skills of religious leaders at both national and community levels. According to the publication, the manual and handbook are designed to expand religious leaders' advocacy efforts on behalf of children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, with the goal of bringing greater priority to their needs and expanding the response.
2. Gender, HIV, and the Church: A Case Study
This 12-page case study, published by Tearfund in March 2009, looks at the church's ability to work with communities to address culturally sensitive issues such as gender and HIV, by focusing on the relationships between men and women. It describes a two-year pilot project to engage local churches in Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso in reflecting on gender issues. According to organisers, the programme took a 'whole-life' approach, discussing gender inequality and HIV within the wider context of relationships, life skills, and Christian life. Organisers say that providing a biblical understanding of these issues was vital to engage churches and address the common perception that "gender" is a Western feminist concept.
3. Multiple Concurrent Partnerships and the Church: Assessing the Attitudes and Perceptions of Community Leaders of Faith
By Chinyelu K. Lee, Dorothy Brewster, and Rose A. Nesbitt
This 15-page report, published by the Pan African Christian AIDS Network (PACANet) in January 2009, shares findings from a survey that sought to access churchgoers' perceptions about multiple concurrent partnerships (MCPs) and the church's response to these relationships, with a view that church leaders must understand the attitudes and perceptions surrounding these relationships in order to develop effective interventions. The study, which collected data from religious leaders and faith-based organisations in western, southern, and eastern Africa and across denominations, found that evangelicals were less likely to perceive MCPs as a problem within their congregations.
4. The Faithful House: Confronting Multiple and Concurrent Partnerships in the Church
By Dorothy Brewster-Lee and Adele Clark
This ten-page report, published by Catholic Relief Services in May 2010, assesses the effects of The Faithful House (TFH) curricula on TFH trainers' attitudes and practices. TFH is a curricula focusing on fidelity. Facilitator trainees underwent a week of training in TFH in Rwanda (RW), Central Uganda (CU), and North Uganda (NU). Using the metaphor of a house, couples are progressively led through different rooms that include, among others: a foundation in God; four pillars of love, respect, faithfulness, and communication; walls representing their values; and windows of forgiveness. The study found attitudes were positive about HIV testing and about the ability of youth to practice abstinence.
5. Call to Me: How the Bible Speaks in the Age of AIDS
By William Mchombo, Joyce Larko Steiner, Dennis Milanzi, and Alfred Sebahen
This 76-page handbook, published in February 2010 is the seventh in the Called to Care toolkit published by Strategies for Hope Trust. It consists of 20 Bible studies on topics related to HIV and AIDS, e.g., sex and sexuality; healing; death, grief and mourning; stigma, discrimination, and denial; church leadership; marriage; fear and anxiety; and children. Intended for use by churches, faith-based organisations, non-governmental organisations, and community groups, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, the publication was produced to enable churches and community groups to deal with difficult, sensitive issues related to the AIDS epidemic, and to decide on ways of dealing with these.
6. Religion - a Double-Edged Sword in HIV Fight
This article discusses the positive and negative role of religion in HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment. According to the author, "The contribution of faith-based organisations to the treatment and care of people living with HIV and AIDS is well known, but it is less clear whether religion is an aid or a barrier when it comes to HIV prevention efforts." Addressing the negative effects of religions in the prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS, the article describes religious leaders and groups, in some cases, as contributing to the stigmatisation of people living with HIV and to negative attitudes towards sexual minorities in a number of countries.Positive contributions include how religious scholars in Muslim countries such as Pakistan, Somalia, and Sudan are beginning to include HIV prevention messages in their sermons.
7. Combating HIV and AIDS Related Stigma, Denial, and Discrimination: A Training Guide for Religious
Published by Religions for Peace in 2008, this 57-page training guide contains both a training manual and a handbook on HIV and AIDS. The training manual and handbook were designed to provide religious leaders and facilitators with a comprehensive information pack on HIV and AIDS and related stigma, denial, and discrimination, as well as strengthen their commitment and skills to combat HIV and AIDS related stigma and discrimination.
HIV/AIDS THEME SITE AND E-NEWSLETTER
For more information related to HIV/AIDS, please visit the HIV theme site.
On this site you will find programme experiences, strategic thinking documents, evaluations, and materials that look at media and communication related to HIV/AIDS.
Every second month, Soul Beat Africa sends out a Soul Beat Extra: HIV/AIDS newsletter which features all the latest HIV-related summaries posted on the Soul Beat Africa website. If you would like to receive this free e-publication, register here and indicate an interest in HIV/AIDS or write to soulbeat@comminit.com indicating that you would like to receive the HIV/AIDS Extra.
HEALTH COMMUNICATION AND FAITH
8. Sermon Guides to Save the Lives of Mothers and Newborns – Toolkits for Religious Leaders
IMA World Health has published a series of sermon guides in English, French, and Kinyarwanda designed to assist faith-based leaders (both Christian and Muslim) to help save lives of mothers and newborns. The sermon guides include descriptions of problems encountered by mothers, solutions for those problems, and sermon starters to help people educate their congregation on safe motherhood practices.
9. Stopping a Killer: Preventing Malaria in Our Communities
A Guide to Help Faith Leaders Educate Congregations and Communities About Malaria
By Kathy Erb
This 33-page sermon guide published in May 2010 was designed to help Muslim and Christian religious leaders understand the dangers of malaria, and what they can do to help save the lives of the people under their care. According to the publishers, the Center for Interfaith Action on Global Poverty (CIFA), religious leaders have a profound ability to change statistics of people dying of malaria, and to lead the fight against malaria at the community level. The guide includes six sermons that contain faith-based principles and scriptures to encourage and teach people of faith to fight malaria.
10. Umbrellas - A Training Resource on Religion and Sexuality Issues
By Peter Labouchere
Developed by Bridges of Hope Training in January 2010 for use by faith-based organisations (FBOs), this training resource is designed to explore and help reconcile religious and moral principles and teachings around love, sex, sin, HIV, condom use, and caring responsibly for one's own health and the health of others. The resource uses a metaphorical story to explore these issues. The story is about a village chief and the issues faced by his family and community around using umbrellas. The umbrella is a metaphor for a condom, and in an indirect way the story explores attitudes and moral/religious issues that people face around sex, sin, HIV, condom use, and health.
11. Mobilizing Muslim Religious Leaders for Reproductive Health and Family Planning at the Community Level: A Training Manual
This manual, created by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Extending Service Delivery Project (ESD) in January 2008, is a 5-day training curriculum designed to equip male and female Muslim religious leaders with the necessary information and skills to better understand, accept, and support the provision of maternal and child health, reproductive health, and family planning (MCH/RH/FP) information and services at the community level. The ultimate goal of the training within the manual is to build the capacity and leadership of Muslim religious leaders in MCH/RH/FP and gender to support couples and community members in making informed decisions on reproductive health issues such as safe motherhood, child spacing, sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS.
12. Faith-Based Models for Improving Maternal and Newborn Health
By Sarla Chand and Jacqui Patterson
This brief highlights the contribution of faith-based organisations (FBOs) to health care by focusing on four FBO programme models that, despite multiple challenges, have been effective in improving maternal and newborn health (MNH) outcomes. The programme models are based on FBO health networks, community health behaviour change programmes, congregation-based health programmes, and comprehensive health care programmes. Using project examples mainly from Africa, the document shows how these models can strengthen and expand health services and contribute to the achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The brief concludes with recommended actions for all stakeholders - FBOs, policy makers, and donors.
SEARCHING SOUL BEAT AFRICA
Looking for more information about faith-based communication?
Visit the Soul Beat Africa website, click on the Search button and filter by Organisation Type and Religious Groups.
ADRESSING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN
13. Silent No More: The Untapped Potential of the Church in Addressing Sexual Violence
This 16-page report published by Tearfund in 2011 provides insights into how churches can respond constructively to the crisis of sexual violence to transform the lives of women, girls, boys, and men. The report summarises the findings from a research report commissioned by Tearfund to explore the current and potential role of the church within communities affected by sexual violence and conflict in three African countries: Rwanda, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). According to the research findings, In many was churches have perpetuated a culture of silence around sexual violence and have largely failed to respond to the crisis and may even worsen the impact by reinforcing stigma and discrimination experienced by survivors. Yet the report argues that communities continue to look to their churches for leadership, and thus churches have largely untapped potential to help prevent sexual violence and reduce its impact.
14. Created in God’s Image: From Hegemony to Partnership - A Church Manual on Men as Partners: Promoting Positive Masculinities
By Patricia Sheerattan-Bisnauth and Philip Vinod Peacock
Published in November 2010, this gender training manual, the product of a collaborative process of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), builds on the gender manual which was developed and published by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) in 2003. The goal of the manual is to enable churches and social organisations to promote gender justice and partnership of women and men through the development of leaders who model good examples.The main topics are: understanding gender, masculinities, identity and sense of self, sexuality, gender-based violence, leadership and power, and partnership.
15. Mobilizing Religious Communities to Respond to Gender-Based Violence and HIV
A Training Manual
By Britt Herstad
This manual from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Health Policy Initiative, is designed to guide trainers in conducting workshops for religious leaders and women leaders of faith on gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV. The resource includes details about activities to be conducted on each day of the agenda, as well as handouts and sample prayers and reflections. The purpose of the workshop is to enable participants to: identify different types, causes, and consequences of GBV; understand the link between GBV and HIV; name approaches for addressing GBV through religious organisations, institutions, and/or communities; and initiate dialogue on how religious leaders and women leaders of faith can mainstream GBV into faith-based interventions.
16. The Role of Religious Communities in Addressing Gender-Based Violence and HIV
By Britt Herstad
This 42-page report summarises the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Health Policy Initiative, Task Order 1, project titled The Role of Religious Communities in Addressing Gender-based Violence and HIV, which was designed and implemented in Africa by Futures Group International and Religions for Peace. Recognising the importance of collaborating to prevent and reduce gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV among women and girls, the initiative partners worked to improve the capacity of religious leaders and faith-based organisations (FBOs) to respond to GBV and its links to HIV. The report concludes that the project's sensitisation and mobilisation efforts - regional training and leadership forum - "were successful in engaging religious leaders and women of faith in addressing GBV and HIV. Religious leaders and women of faith have demonstrated this commitment and engagement through GBV and HIV activities at a variety of levels."
RESPONSES TO PEACEBUILDING AND EMERGENCIES
17. Collaboration between Faith-based Communities and Humanitarian Actors when Responding to HIV in Emergencies
By Fiona Samuels , Rena Geibel and Fiona Perry
This Overseas Development Institute (ODI) Project Briefing explores the "unexploited capacity" that faith-based communities (FBCs) have in delivering HIV prevention, treatment, and care. It is based on the observation that FBCs may be the first port of call for local people during a crisis, and often continue to provide HIV services when others do not. However, misconceptions may have been hampering humanitarian organisations from engaging with FBCs - e.g., due to the worry that FBCs are unable to provide HIV prevention services without a religious agenda. This briefing presents key findings and recommendations for the faith community and humanitarian actors.
18. Lessons Learned in Programming and Implementing the Religious Leaders RH/FP Programme: A Case for Dadaab Refugee Camp
This 16-page report, published by the Extending Service Delivery (ESD) Project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), presents the lessons learned from engaging religious leaders in promoting health behaviours in reproductive health and family planning (RH/FP) services in Dadaab refugee camp in Northern Kenya. According to the report, there was increased demand for RH services from women during the programme year, including antenatal care, postpartum care, and sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnosis and treatment. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that community members' attitudes towards RH seem to be changing.
19. Women of Faith Transforming Conflict: A Multi-Religious Training Manual
This 48-page manual, published by Religions for Peace, uses lessons learned in two inter-faith peace projects - one in West Africa and one in Southeast Europe - to provide a practical guide for planning and implementing programmes around women's roles in transforming conflict. Section 1 provides an overview of Religions for Peace and the two programmes, describing the synergy of their work. Section 2 offers insights for readers who want to learn more about the role of women and religion in situations of conflict. Section 3 is designed to provide a step-by-step session for trainers working on conflict transformation, communication and leadership skills, and media and advocacy.
Related previous issues include:
Communicating for Reproductive Health
Eliminating FGM/C and Changing Social Norms
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