Catholic Church provides ministry of compassion to people suffering from deadly disease in Namibia

 For Helena, a widowed mother of three infected with the AIDS virus, every day is Good Friday. At 43, Helena lives without her children in a tiny, one-room home in Rehoboth, in Namibia's sandy south. The space is just big enough for a narrow bed, two folding chairs and a walker, without which Helena cannot stand. From a nail on the wall hangs her only change of clothes, a blue dress. Helena is unable to work because of the pain in her feet and a tubercular cough, she says.

"It was very difficult to accept the illness, after I knew my status," Helen whispers to the Catholic AIDS Action (CAA) volunteers who have come to visit her. "I just rely on Jesus and prayers; this gives me strength to go forward," she says, as the tears begin to fall.

Each week, CAA volunteers visit Helena and more than 6,000 other HIV/AIDS clients from their offices in 14 parts of the country. Besides the comfort of prayer, they bring lotion, soap and rehydration salt. Their solidarity encourages those who are sick to keep taking their antiretroviral medications and vitamins.

Today, Maryknoll Father Richard Bauer, CAA director and an expert in neuropsychology, accompanies volunteers Ina Louw and Josephine Kene. After praying the Our Father with Helena and the volunteers, Bauer takes his leave. "We're not doing enough about the pain," he says.

It is just one more aspect requiring vigilance in CAA's ministry of compassion in a country that has one of the highest AIDS rates. In 2005, one-third of all HIV/AIDS cases in the world were found in southern Africa. In Namibia, nearly 20 percent of the population is infected-that is, one in five people- and in some parts of the country the rate surpasses 40 percent.

Founded by Benedictine Sister Doctor Raphaela Handler in 1998, and under Bauer's leadership since 2003, CAA is a registered non-governmental organization (NGO) and a department of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Namibia. It was the Church's first response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the country. The organization has four focuses: home-based family care and counseling; AIDS education and prevention; support for orphans and vulnerable children and voluntary counseling and testing.

Poverty, geography and history challenge each of these focuses. Namibia is a new country, having been liberated from the former apartheid government of South Africa in 1990. The aftermath of apartheid is still visible in the society's enormous economic disparity. Although Namibia is not considered a poor country, more than half the population earns less than US$2 daily, including a third that do not make even US$1 a day, and 60 percent of Namibians are unemployed or underemployed. The desert and semi-desert geography make food scarce for many. Bauer, who worked six years in AIDS ministry in Tanzania, says in that country, "When I asked the volunteers or clients, 'How can we help you?' they all said, 'I want that medicine from the States.' Here, if you ask, 'How can I help you?' they will say, 'Food.' This is a desert." For some, sex becomes a product to exchange for the things they need or want. Respect, dignity, self-esteem and, above all, hope are all gifts of CAA's ministry of compassion. The vast impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Namibia may give the appearance of a prolonged Good Friday for those affected by it. Nevertheless, Bauer says, "Jesus is present with the sick, and the Church is a people of hope. There will be a day when there is a vaccine, universal medical coverage and food. And that's what Easter Sunday will look like in Namibia."