Every day, 6,000 people die AIDS-related deaths in Africa.

By 2010, an estimated 15.7 million children will have lost at least one parent due to AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. Worldwide, that estimate extends to 20.2 million orphans.¹

As American Christians, we can choose to either ignore this reality or take an honest look at what it might mean to be the Body of Christ alongside and on behalf of these children and families.

This Special Edition of the FYI E-Journal brings a few AIDS-related resources to you and your youth ministry on this World AIDS Day. We hope you find them helpful, and we pray that you will find a way to get involved in the greatest crisis of our time.

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FREE One Life Curriculum Guide
by Kara Powell and FYI

From Our Partners…

I am literally shaking with excitement about the new One Life Curriculum created by FYI (no, seriously, I’m shaking – I just finished reading it through). I’ve been passionate, personally, about the impact One Life can have on both Africa and the youth groups who participate; but, to be able to offer a theologically-grounded, researched, practical – and FREE! – curriculum for youth groups is thrilling. This seriously ups the ante on the potential transformative process of One Life involvement; but, really, it ups the ante on youth ministry curriculum in general!

— Mark Oestreicher
President, Youth Specialties

We at World Vision are so grateful for the partnership we’ve developed with the Fuller Youth Institute (formerly Center for Youth and Family Ministry at Fuller Seminary). One of our goals for several years has been to provide youth workers and local churches with an effective curriculum that can help transform our two youth group initiatives, One Life and 30 Hour Famine, from youth ministry events to youth ministry lifestyles. The FYI curriculum helps youth workers make significant strides in helping teenagers realize the Bible’s teachings about social justice, and the role they can play in God’s Kingdom.
— Debbie Diederich
Youth Marketing Director, World Vision

Designed specifically to increase students’ awareness and response to the AIDS pandemic in Africa, FYI spent a year collaborating with youth workers from around the country who gave valuable input as well as using this curriculum in their own ministries to help us in the refining process. What results is a highly-adaptable guide that we hope will be usable for you no matter what the size or context of your youth group. On the new One Life page on our website, you may download either the entire curriculum or one module at a time.

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A Deeper Response to AIDS
by Stephanie Smith

A theologian and intercultural expert offers insights to some common questions faced by youth ministries discussing and responding to the AIDS pandemic.

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When Faith Gets AIDS
Learn more about FYI’s involvement in addressing the AIDS pandemic. You’ll also find seven articles here based on developing a theology of children and youth, presented by Fuller faculty and students at the 2005 Cutting Edge international Children at Risk Conference hosted by the Viva Network.

In early 2007 Fuller will be releasing a new book entitled Understanding God’s Heart for Children, published through World Vision, featuring these and other global authors’ insights.

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Additional Links and Resources

World AIDS Day: 5 Things You Can Do
A resource from World Vision including ways to get involoved in prayer, giving, and public advocacy on behalf of AIDS-stricken families in Africa.

Children Affected By AIDS: Africa’s Orphaned and Vulnerable Generations
This UNICEF report is available as a free pdf download (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view). Highlights the disturbing realities and needs of the 12 million children orphaned by AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History
So far over 2 million people have pledged to participate in this global initiative against poverty, emphasizing AIDS relief as a critical need.

The Millennium Development Goals
This link is to a pdf of the 2006 report on this United Nations promise to the poor and oppressed of the world. Goal #6 is to “have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.”

UNAIDS
The joint United Nations effort to “Unite the world against AIDS.” Take a look at last week’s press release regarding the continuing global growth of the epidemic.

1. Statistics from UNICEF’s report “Children Affected By AIDS: Africa’s Orphaned and Vulnerable Generations”, copyright 2006 by UNICEF, and
   World Vision’s One Life site. [↩]

©2006 Fuller Youth Institute