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Published by
International Orthodox
Christian Charities, April 20, 2005
PARTNERS
UNITE TO FIGHT AIDS, FAMILY VIOLENCE IN
ROMANIA |
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Bucharest, Romania (IOCC) - Romanians and
Americans have joined forces in an ambitious
partnership to fight HIV/AIDS and family violence
in Romania, a country that faces an alarmingly
high level of HIV-positive teen-agers. The project
brings together the Romanian Orthodox Church,
International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC),
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),
and the Romanian Ministry of Education.
On Tuesday, April 19, His Beatitude Patriarch
Teoctist of the Romanian Orthodox Church and
representatives of the other organizations met at
the Patriarchal Palace in Bucharest to launch the
three-year initiative, which will spread a
faith-based message of AIDS prevention and
nondiscrimination throughout Romania. Seventy
percent of Romanians living with HIV/AIDS are
teen-agers. Those who are orphans and living in
state care will have to fend for themselves once
they turn 18, and many face the grim prospect of a
life of poverty and unemployment. Against this
setting for a public health crisis, the Romanian
Orthodox Church and IOCC offer the prospect of
hope and social change.
The Church and IOCC will work together to empower
young people and adults with better AIDS awareness
and methods of prevention by adding social and
health sessions to religion courses, and by
training clergy and lay people to more effectively
care for and assist people living with HIV/AIDS.
The $5.4 million project includes $2 million in
support from USAID and $3.4 million in support
from the Romanian Orthodox Church, IOCC and the
Ministry of Education. IOCC’s contribution was
bolstered by the generous support of Romanian
Orthodox Christians in North America.
“Working closely together with the Romanian
Orthodox Church, we seek to awaken a new sense of
hope and promise among Romanians so that they can
effectively deal with the scourge of HIV/AIDS and
prevent its further spread,” said IOCC Executive
Director Constantine M. Triantafilou. “We also
want to motivate a more compassionate response
toward people living with HIV/AIDS and victims of
family violence.”
About 2,600 Church personnel, including priests
and religion teachers, in 13 dioceses (15
counties) will receive instruction in AIDS
awareness and family violence prevention, as well
as training in counseling techniques and in
mobilizing their own parish communities on behalf
of the victims. Community-based services will be
implemented through a series of grassroots
initiatives, half of them youth-led and for
teen-agers, and another half through concerned
parishioners organized into Philanthropic
Committees. Through educational classes and Youth
Initiative Clubs, the project will reach nearly
350,000 young people with a faith-based message of
abstinence and faithfulness to one partner, as
well as millions of other Romanians, whether
churchgoers or not, through a public education and
media campaign. These initiatives will deliver a
message of compassion and non-discrimination to
help overcome the social stigma against people
living with HIV/AIDS.
“Because of its unique place in Romanian society,
the Church can play a pivotal role in spreading
knowledge about HIV/AIDS and can provide the moral
leadership necessary for a more effective response
to this growing problem,” Triantafilou said.
Information about AIDS is largely unavailable in
rural areas of Romania, and public knowledge of
the benefits of early detection, as well as
information about treatment options, is all too
often lacking, Triantafilou said.
Among those attending the April 19 ceremony were
His Beatitude Patriarch Teoctist; U.S. Embassy
Chargé d’Affaires Thomas Delare; USAID-Romania
Mission Director Rodger D. Garner; Romanian
Minister of Education Mircea Miclea; Merce Gasco,
M.D., of the John Snow Institute, a technical
assistance partner; IOCC officials; and other
Church and civic leaders.
IOCC has been active in Romania since 2000, when
it began providing emergency relief to victims of
seasonal flooding. Since then, IOCC has helped
open a multi-purpose youth center in Bistrita,
implemented a welfare reform program to strengthen
families and prevent child abandonment in
southwest Romania, and provided assistance to
flood victims working to rebuild their homes.
Founded in 1992, IOCC is the official humanitarian
aid agency of the Standing Conference of Canonical
Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA). To learn
more about its programs worldwide, please visit
www.iocc.org .
For media inquiries, please contact IOCC
Communications Associate Stephen Huba at
1-877-803-4622 or
shuba@iocc.org.
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