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What can I do?

The HIV/AIDS Ministry and Messages of Gideon Byamugisha

2004; 49 minutes. Available in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Swahili. Also available for purchase is a 48-page Facilitator's Guide.

This video, designed to combat HIV-related stigma, shame, discrimination and denial in churches, features Canon Gideon Byamugisha from Uganda - the first African priest to disclose his HIV-positive status. Canon Gideon talks about the need for his fellow Christians to do away with judgemental attitudes towards HIV-positive people, and instead to offer them love and support. ‘Churches need to spread hope, not fear,’ he says. He goes on to tell how his wife died of an HIV-related illness and that he too found out he was HIV-positive. He accepted his status and disclosed it to his family and friends, and also to his Bishop. Later he married a woman who was also HIV-positive.

Canon Gideon Byamugisha speaks at the launch of What can I do? in Kampala, Uganda.

Canon Gideon speaks on the video about the difficulty he has faced when buying condoms, because people usually associate condoms with immorality. He describes how he has turned these situations into impromptu AIDS education sessions.

With the support of his family and friends, his church and World Vision International, Canon Gideon has taken his unique HIV/AIDS ministry to many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as to Asia, Europe and North America. He is driven by the conviction that HIV/AIDS is both a preventable and a manageable illness - providing the barriers of stigma, shame, denial, discrimination and ignorance can be broken down. He wants to encourage others, especially religious leaders, to get this important message across to the general public.

The video is 49 minutes long and is divided into short segments on topics such as ‘Coping with stigma’, ‘Why be tested for HIV?’ and ‘Challenges for the church’. It is accompanied by a 48-page Facilitator’s Guide, to enable groups to explore in greater depth the issues which it raises.

The Portuguese version of the video (O que posso fazer?) is being distributed in Mozambique by the Christian AIDS Network, with financial support from the National AIDS Council. The Christian AIDS Network have also produced the Portuguese edition of the Facilitator's Guide.  Furthermore, in 2006 they produced both the film and the guide in three local languages (see 'Latest News' page).

 The Swahili version of What can I do? (Naweza Kufanya Nini?) was launched in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on 13 May 2006.  Over 100 people from local churches attended the event, which was organised by the Upendo AIDS Centre and the Tanzanian Network of Religious Leaders living with or Affected by HIV and AIDS (TANERELA+). (see 'Latest News' page)

The video is available in VHS format or as a DVD (both £16). The Guide costs £2.

To order please click here

Extracts from the video are available here in several languages in Windows Media format. The dial-up version lasts 2.5 minutes; the broadband version 7 minutes.

To view, please select the language version you require and the most appropriate connection speed. Then press 'Play clips'.