Though Swaziland is one of the smallest countries in the world, it is famous throughout the world because of its HIV/AIDS infection rate.
At 42.6% Swaziland leads the way both in Sub-Saharan Africa and the world.
As is normally the case, there are several nasty side affects that come along with fame.
In the case of Swaziland these “side effects” are 100,000 orphans, a massive death wave among the adult population, poverty, starvation, and so much more.
As the eyes of relief agencies and NGO’s began to turn toward the AIDS crisis, Swaziland began to receive some attention. In 2004 Adventures in Missions http://www.adventures.org/a/centers/swaziland/ dove headfirst into this crisis as they partnered with two other ministries to conduct a massive HIV/AIDS educational program that focused on abstinence and behavior change that comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Using a Hollywood produced movie called
Beat the Drum http://www.beatthedrumthemovie.com/ and a very professional curriculum, 900 volunteers from nearly a dozen countries joined together under the coordination of AIM and conducted the Beat the Drum campaign in 192 high schools throughout Swaziland.
72,000 students heard the message of Jesus Christ and the benefits of living a pure lifestyle.
A majority of them committed to remaining abstinent until marriage.
The campaign lasted for two very intense months.
There are many victories that can be attributed to the Beat the Drum campaign, but maybe the most prolific victory is that seal of silence that used to dominate the country when it came to discussing AIDS was broken.
Newspapers were carrying stories daily about the effects of AIDS and these stories often told sad stories of rape and abuse throughout the country.
Suddenly people were talking about AIDS and things began to slowly change.
To be continued… Courtesy of Seth Barnes, President Adventures in Missions
