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The Big Idea Imagine if you had been invited to be a part of the discovery of penicillin which has saved millions of lives. Or envision if you were on the team that created the Salk vaccine to eradicate polio. What if you were one of the visionaries that helped invent an entirely new way of making healthcare accessible to billions of people? The good news is, you actually DO have the opportunity to be a part of this third breakthrough. You can be a pioneer. You can be in on the ground floor of the Western Rwanda HIV/AIDS Healthcare Initiative that will potentially affect the lives of 600,000 Rwandans in the Karongi District of the Western Province. With the widest distribution and the largest volunteer base, the network of millions of local churches around the world is best positioned to revolutionize healthcare, making it both accessible and affordable to those who have never
enjoyed it. We dream of the day when local churches, linked with
community health systems and hospital care systems, will
provide basic healthcare to those in need around the world! With hope for a better life for billions of people, Rick and Kay Warren Pastor Rick and Kay Warren,
Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, California ................................................................................................................... The C.H.U.R.C.H. strategy While there is no cure, there are at least six ways that every church can make a significant and positive impact on those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS: CARE FOR AND SUPPORT THE SICK
Churches are commanded to care. It is their calling. Love leaves no choice! Local congregations are the only caring organization found in almost every community around the world. Members can offer physical and emotional care in homes. HANDLE HIV TESTING AND COUNSELING
Churches are the most trusted organizations in communities so people may be more willing to be tested and counseled there. Just being tested has proven to
promote healthier behavior. Members can be trained to give medical, emotional, and family counsel to those receiving results from their testing. UNLEASH A FORCE OF VOLUNTEERS
Churches have the largest volunteer labor force on the planet – over 2 billion members. There aren’t enough professionals in the world to teach prevention, administer
treatment, and offer care to those who need it. There is an enormous pool of
untapped talent and energy sitting unused in churches waiting to be mobilized. REMOVE THE STIGMA
Churches must embrace those infected. They can replace rejection with mercy.
The church must remove abuse and alienation. They offer faith, hope, love, forgiveness, grace, and spiritual support which neither business nor government can offer. CHAMPION HEALTHY BEHAVIOR
HIV/AIDS is complex, yet preventable. Churches have the moral obligation to promote healthy behavior, and offer moral directives for the family. They teach the moral motivation for abstinence and faithfulness. Resisting peer pressure and relapse requires a supportive faith community. HELP WITH HIV MEDICATIONS (ARVS)
The church has the largest distribution network on the planet. It’s already in place worldwide! Millions of villages have a church, but nothing else. For treatment to become universal, we must develop church supported treatment models. Members can be trained to distribute and support HIV/AIDS medications and support essential nutrition. The church can offer pre-treatment preparation, treatment education, adherence support, direct observation therapy (DOT) and treatment coaching to
the entire family. ................................................................................................................... “This unparalleled program represents
an innovative approach to decentralizing
healthcare and increasing its access for
the poor by using local churches in an
unprecedented partnership with the
Rwandan government’s Ministry of
Health, three Rwandan hospitals, the
University of Maryland, Saddleback
Church in California, and the global
network of Purpose Driven churches.” Dr. Rick Warren,
author of the global bestseller,
The Purpose Driven Life,
Pastor, Saddleback Church ................................................................................................................... Western Rwanda HIV/AIDS
Healthcare Initiative Summary The aim of the initiative is to dramatically increase
access to quality healthcare in Western Rwanda This will be accomplished by: Church-initiated community development
partnerships with public and private sectors Training local churches in primary health care Improving hospital and clinic infrastructure Increasing the numbers and capacity of
existing health care providers Expanding HIV services in the church,
hospital and clinic settings Linking the community health and
hospital health care systems together Maximizing health care delivery by
using church members Empowering and equipping pastors so that
churches launch community healthcare volunteers ................................................................................................................... “Our goals for this Initiative are to train
every church in basic healthcare; upgrade
and improve the three hospitals; link
the hospitals and churches to partner
together; and develop sustainable
solutions by using local churches.”
Dr. Rick Warren,
Pastor, Saddleback Church ................................................................................................................... End Results
In the next three years:
- 650,000 of the poorest, most remote people will receive access to healthcare
- 1000 new community health volunteers recruited and trained
- 50 Churches linked with hospitals, and clinics
- 500 Pastors trained in Purpose Driven Principles
- 30,000 church-initiated home and community visits
- Increased access to Malaria and TB prevention and treatment
- Number of patients on HIV medication (ARVs) increased by 50%
- Hospitals, clinics and laboratories built and strengthened
- Increase capacity of healthcare providers
- HIV prevalence decreases and HIV testing increased by 30%
- Pediatric treatment increased by 50%
- 30 Congregations champion the C.H.U.R.C.H model and operate
as satellite care centers to make appropriate health referrals ................................................................................................................... “Partnering with churches is difficult, and it takes longer than doing it by yourself. One difference in the PEACE Plan is that I trust pastors and churches to know their community better than we ever will. In the long-run, relationships are the key.”
Dr. Rick Warren
Pastor, Saddleback Church ................................................................................................................... “Positive change and transformation
occurs in a society when stakeholders work in a spirit of unity, mutual respect and complementing each other. The Western Rwanda HIV/AIDS Healthcare Initiative is providing an example whereby the Rwanda Churches represented by the National Steering Committee, the Government of Rwanda represented by the Ministry of Health, Saddleback Church and The University of Maryland Foundation are joining efforts for better healthcare for the people of the Western District of Karongi.” Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini,
Chairman,
Rwanda National Steering Committee ................................................................................................................... “This is a unique pioneering program –
it has never been done anywhere
else in the world” Agnes Binagwaho M.D.,
Executive Secretary
Rwanda National AIDS Control Commission
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