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Gaborone, Botswana
Borns help Botswana battling with HIV/AIDS


When Bryan and Teresa Born set out to serve in Botswana in 1992, they never expected to encounter so many brothers and sisters profoundly touched by HIV/AIDS.

The Borns serve with MBMS International and African Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM). Their initial job description as Bible teachers of lay people grew to include a larger pastoral role as more and more Christians were affected by HIV/AIDS.

“Statistics don’t really describe the situation,” says Born. “You have to see the pleading look in a dying young woman’s eyes as she asks Teresa to take her baby. She’d heard her ‘death sentence’, and she was torn apart about what to do with her children.”

Botswana President Festus Mogae recently gave a national speech warning, “Unless there is a change in people’s behaviour, Botswana itself faces the threat of extinction from HIV/AIDS. To grasp the crisis, you need to take a walk like I did last month through a graveyard. Of the 30 most recent burials, over 75% had been of people under 35 years of age, and that didn’t count the babies who are buried in a separate section.”

How can the church around the world journey alongside those profoundly touched by the HIV/AIDS crisis when they feel so insignificant in the face of such a huge crisis? The Borns and the churches with which they work are asking that question.

Learning to respond

MBMS International is one of the Mennonite ministry partners that has worked with the AIMM since the 1970s. In Botswana, workers disciple believers and build up strong Christ-like leaders in African Independent Churches (AICs).

In Botswana, there is a history of tension between churches established by North American missionaries and those founded by Africans. Consequently, AIMM believed it was almost impossible for missionaries to assist AICs while also trying to plant Mennonite churches. Many AICs would have assumed that Mennonites were trying to steal their members. A decision was made at that time that Mennonites would work with those existing AICs that had asked for assistance in the area of leadership training.

“We’re here to help Botswana believers become effective teachers of the gospel,” says Born. “When I met Jerry last year, that’s what I envisioned for him as well. He was active in his church and seeking to grow in his walk with Jesus. He began attending our Tuesday Bible class, and we also met together one lunch hour a week to share with one another. It seemed like good things were happening in his life. Then he started getting ill.”

According to Born, Jerry’s condition has rapidly worsened in the past couple of months. For a while, he couldn’t walk and he was even incoherent. Jerry has now moved home to his village.

“He’s still hopeful about his situation,” comments Born. “But I must admit that I find it difficult to remain upbeat. Although it hasn’t been confirmed, most likely he’s got AIDS.”

Since HIV/AIDS touches everyone the Borns work with in the churches, they cannot help but also address the issues this disease stirs up. Bryan addresses the HIV/AIDS crisis through teaching, preaching and seminars, while Teresa works with people through the Tshepong (Hope) Counselling Network, an inter-church effort that provides counselling at local clinics for those touched by the HIV/AIDS crisis.

“When people come in for testing, you think that you can tell their status just by looking at them,” comments Teresa. “After sitting down and talking to them about their situation you desperately want the results to be in their favour. That’s why it is so difficult to tell someone they have HIV/AIDS. Regardless, we still have a message of hope. God still does love them, and their life isn’t over. Jesus can provide hope, and the church at its best can be a healing community.”

The role of the church

“The church can play a powerful role in the HIV/AIDS crisis,” says Pakisa Tshimika, Africa Program Director for MBMS International. “The church can be a community that serves as a catalyst for change, holding out hope in the midst of gloom.” According to Tshimika, the churches most active in addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis are the AICs.

But Christians in Botswana wrestle with how to respond. According to Born, there are those on one extreme who look at HIV/AIDS in traditional terms: a result of witchcraft or the displeasure of ancestral spirits offended because sexual taboos have been broken. On the other end are those who simply deny that anyone in their church has HIV/AIDS. They claim when young people die, it’s not because of AIDS but some other disease. In many churches, people refuse to talk openly about sex. However, now that the numbers of the dead and the sick have risen so dramatically, there are not many of these churches left.

More common are the churches where people are simply at a loss to know what to do, reflects Born. Although many of the leaders of these churches are older people who are uncomfortable talking about HIV/AIDS and sex, they also know something must be done.

“Many want to believe that prayer can cure HIV/AIDS,” says Born. “They want to have faith but as they see more and more people die, they don’t know what to do. Many have decided that HIV/AIDS is God’s judgement on the nation. Yet, when dealing with individuals, they are completely non-judgemental and merely seek to alleviate suffering.”

Botswana hospitals are so overwhelmed with the large numbers of HIV/AIDS patients that most patients are released into the care of family members. Churches either partner with local clinics to provide care or set up home-based care groups in their church structures to try and help families cope. When one of their members falls ill, a group from the church will visit and assist the family in practical ways such as providing food, bedding and transportation to the doctor. They also gather to pray and sing to encourage the patient.

Born tells of Annah Ditshotlo, an HIV/AIDS activist, who he says is convinced that the answer lies in committing one’s life to Christ and following the pattern Jesus showed us in the Gospels.

“Annah is well acquainted with the horror of HIV/AIDS. Her sister died of AIDS earlier this year, leaving three children as orphans. Along with another sister she cares for these orphans. She meets with people everywhere and explains to them about HIV/AIDS as best she can. She invites them to commit their lives to Jesus. She’s an AIDS evangelist. She’s always looking for more literature on HIV/AIDS, and more gospel tracts.”

According to Tshimika, the church has an opportunity to be proactive in addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis. He says he believes it will require a strong commitment and creativity. “We must strengthen our sense of belonging to our brothers and sisters from our partner conferences around the world,” he says, “making the HIV/AIDS problem our own.”

 – a joint release by MBMS International & African Inter-Mennonite Mission

Facts on AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa/Botswana

11 million people from sub-Saharan Africa have already died from HIV/AIDS, and another 22 million are infected (Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS). 1 in 3 people are infected with HIV/AIDS in Botswana. Botswana has the highest rate of infection for adults in all of Africa (36%) (Time). Out of a population of 1.5 million in Botswana, it is estimated that over 180,000 people are HIV positive; 15,000 are in advanced stages of AIDS. There are 66,000 orphans in Botswana (Time). Most recent testing of pregnant women in urban areas of Botswana found over 40% were HIV positive, with figures as high as 50% in Selebi Phikwe (Mennonite Central Committee). By 2021, the population of Botswana will be 31% smaller than it would have been without AIDS, the economy will shrink between 24-38%, and life expectancy will decrease to 30 or 31 – half the life expectancy as compared to 1990 (Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis). The HIV/AIDS pandemic is related to rapid cultural change throughout Africa. As people have become more mobile, many cultural norms that would restrict promiscuous behaviour have broken down. As many children are sent away to school, they often lack the kind of parental guidance they had in the past (Born).

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Last modified June 7, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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