BIBLE SOCIETY NEWS | United Bible Societies | Mary Frank
Tuesday 18 October 2016
The Good Samaritan program is inspirational! I love its Bible-based material which encourages children to know God, have a good attitude and be a Good Samaritan to other vulnerable children who are victims of war and HIV. The program is relevant for everyone, not only children, because it gives hope and encourages someone who is infected, traumatised and marginalised by providing spiritual support.
My parents died and left three of us as orphans. We suffered a lot. I decided to leave school and stay at home to feed and take care of my younger brothers as nobody was there to support us. I didn’t know that our last born was carrying the HIV virus from our mother who passed away shortly after giving birth to him. We keep on sharing everything. I remember one day he fell down and injured his knees. I washed the blood away and bandaged the wounds. I took care of him for six years after the death of our mother.
Mary Gabriel (26) (pictured on the left with Cecilia Kaiwa Harun)
When he died, I heard people whispering to each other, ‘He must have got the virus from his mother’, but because I didn’t know what HIV was, I didn’t realise what they were talking about. How I wish I had known about ARVs. I would have tried to get them for my brother and maybe he would have lived. When I was pregnant with my first child, I was tested for HIV but the result was negative. I thank God for protecting me from contracting the virus from my brother.
I want to fight ignorance in my community. Although I did not finished my education, I can still be an agent of change with help from the Bible Society and other organisations. I will fight HIV by raising awareness among both children and adults and also being a Good Samaritan to the infected and affected ones. I love this program because I love ministering among children. God is good!
Find out more about the United Bible Societies here.
The post Nurturing the Good Samaritans in South Sudan appeared first on Bible Society.
