In-Home Care kits get supplies, hope to Africa's AIDS population

Southern Baptists are sending a message of hope to the 22.5 million sufferers of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa by packing five-gallon buckets of medical supplies called in-home care kits. Partnering with Baptist Global Response (BGR), the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention is joining hands with over 20 other state conventions to offer collection sites for the care kits that will be sent to Southern Baptist missionaries for distribution among the region's sick and afflicted.

A recent press release from BGR, an international relief and development organization, indicated the HIV/AIDS crisis in South Africa has reached pandemic proportions with 1.6 million adults and children dying from the virus in 2007.

Considered one of the world's poorest regions, most of the people groups in Sub-Saharan Africa have limited or no access to health care. BGR personnel believe the in-home care kits will assist Southern Baptist missionaries ministering to the region by providing them practical tools for demonstrating the good news of Christ.

"It's easy to think of the global crisis as just a bunch of statistics," said Mark Hatfield, BGR area director of Sub-Saharan Africa. "All you have to do, though, is visit in the home of someone with full-blown AIDS who is experiencing a slow, painful death or stop in a home in which a 14-year-old is caring for three brothers and sisters because no adult is left to head the home. Then you begin to see the HIV/AIDS crisis as an extremely personal issue."

Conceding that the HIV/AIDS crisis is impacted by poor personal choices, lack of development, and adherence to various myths concerning the disease, Hatfield also said that HIV/AIDS claims many innocent victims.

"And what is even more true is that, no matter the reason, these are all individuals who are loved by our Lord," he said. "These are all people he asks us as his followers to reach out to with a touch that shares compassion and care."

In 2008, BGR launched the pilot phase of the in-home care kits with churches from three states packing 1,400 kits. In 2009, the number of participating state conventions grew to 20 and a total of 3,400 kits were packaged and sent to Africa. This year, BGR hopes to gather 5,000 buckets for 5,000 families.

One in-home care kit averages $100 and includes medical and hygiene supplies packed in a five-gallon bucket with sealable lid.

"Items in this kit will make the caregivers' tasks much easier, but more importantly will ease the suffering of the ones affected by the illness," a BGR news release stated.

To facilitate customs and duty requirements, BGR personnel have provided a detailed shopping list and step-by-step packing instructions for the care kits.

Each bucket contains items that are considered both expensive and rare to the area's poor such as vitamins, socks, and basic toiletries like a toothbrush and paste.

Many of these common household items can alleviate conditions that aggravate the symptoms of HIV/AIDS. Lip balm helps alleviate dry lips that develop from oral sores or lesions on the lips. Petroleum jelly protects skin infections from dirt and germs. Various linens such as washcloths, towels, and bed sheets provide comfort to AIDS sufferers, while mattress pads and vinyl mattress protectors shield bedding from body fluids. Latex gloves and a scrub brush help caregivers disinfect linens and supplies. Recipients of the in-home care kits will find the bucket valuable as well as they are used to haul and store water, keep food away from rodents and insects, and protect goods from weather.

And although Sub-Saharan Africa is currently the only recipient of the kits, BGR's project manager, Dennis Eastridge, said he hopes to expand the project to additional areas with other types of kits.

Similar care kits are planned for upcoming disaster relief efforts in Haiti, Baptist Press reported. Organized by Florida Baptists, five-gallon "Buckets of Hope" will be purchased and assembled by stateside churches and will contain food items such as rice, cooking oil, black beans, flour, sugar, noodles, and peanut butter.

Robin Taylor, International Mission Board missionary to Pietermartizburg, South Africa, helps to distribute the BGR in-home care kits to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.