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Created: April 17, 2003
Latest Update: April 17, 2003
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

AIDS IN THE AFRICAN COMMUNITY: CONTRIBUTING FACTORS OF ELEVATED INFECTION RATES AMONG WOMEN

Site Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata and Individual Authors, April 2003.
"Fair use" encouraged.

ABSTRACT

This thesis project explores the plausible reasons for the high concentration of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among women in Africa. In addition, it presents a descriptive analysis of social factors and explores high risk behavior that may predispose them to acquiring the disease and discusses possible ways to reduce infection rates. The African community and social behavior is explored through utilization of data gathered during my research with the personal experiences of a Catholic priest named Peter Mobe.

Father Mobe was born and raised in Africa will be considered to be a professional source strictly from his life experiences and opinions on the subject at hand. Various books, journals and on-line sources have been used to validate his personal experiences and opinions. The possible correlation of individual behavior and the social and cultural impacts on high risk behavior were examined. The subject of one's personal problems and how quickly they can turn into a public issue becomes cear through this analysis. The successful prevention of the spread of HIV and AIDS in this culture relies on the acknowledgement of the tremendous influence of cultural values.

Sexual behavior and health behavior, as well as the socialization process of African women and their lack of education of the disease also plays a major role. Impoverished African women live in conditions that surround them in settings that perpetuate high risk behavior. This analysis indicates the . . . most critical factors are: the family structure, economic and social structure, and how the women identify themselves within that structure. The itnerdependency of these factors correlates to high risk behavior in the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

Chapter 1
Brief Life Story by Peter Mobe

I grew up in a Catholic family of six girls and two boys. I am the second-born child. My parents both are alive, living in a remote rural family village. My father is sixty-seven years and my mother is fifty-nine years old. They have been married for the past forty-three years. I grew up with my parents and they had a big influence in bringing me up in the Christian faith, in the Catholic Church. I was baptized as a baby. Eventually, I was prepared for my first Holy Communion as a boy with their support. My mother, in particular, taught me some simple Catholic prayers: before and after meals, night and morning prayers, and the sign of the cross, etc. She was a full time housewife. In other words, my parents passed on the love and value of the Catholic Church to me during my childhood within the family.

I grew and attended the primary (seven years) School and Junior secondary School (three years) in an urban area where my father was employed in the Copper mine company. Then i atttended my senior secondary School (two years) at Catholic Boys' School. I entered the National Major Seminary, philosophy section, in 1983. The two years of study of philosophy and four years of theology gave me the desire to become a priest, also a firm grounding in a critical way of thinking and an appreciation of the reality which surrounds me. Since my ordination to priesthood in 1991, I have served as a pastor in a variety of ministries in parishes, outstations and diocesan pastoral office[s]. My personal participation in small community activities and meetings deepened my sense of Christ in the midst of life's events. Some personal testimonies of poverty, ignorance, illiteracy, hunger, illness etc., shared in community meetingsbrought me to understand this revelation of the basic needs in our communities. Also the great message of God's spirit of love, cares, and concern guides me to help meed our communities' needs.

Introduction

This thesis project develops as a learning project about women with AIDS in Africa from the experiences and opinions of someone who lives in Zambia, a man by the name of Father Mobe. The project will support his opinions with written and web-based information. Father Mobe is a Parish Priest with the Catholic Diocese of Ndola. Father Mobe's full name is Peter Bwalya Mobe. He was born on the 18th of July in 1963, in Zambia, in the city of Ndola. His father was a life-long worker of the copper mines in Africa, his mother stayed at home with Peter and his siblings.

He was ordained a Catholic Priest on the 4th of August, 1991. Since then he has been appointed to the following positions; Parish Priest, Diocesan Consulters, Administrator-Cathedral Christ the King Parish and Vicar General-Ndola Diocese. Father Mobe has pastoral duties that involve the promotion of the physical, spiritual and educational well being of humanity within a balanced environment. The concerns of the church and Father Mobe range across areas of: health care, education, environment, ethics, human rights, music, art, justice and peace issues. In other words care of the community as a whole functioning unit.

Father Mobe puts special emphasis on his pastoral work programs which include; workshops, courses, organizing and training lay people for leadership in small communities, for example the outstations. Outstations are small communities located in a hundred mile radius that are served by the Catholic Diocese of Ndola. Father Mobe has worked for nearly nine years serving as a Pastor in many ministries and is now searching for a holistic continuing education. He has a desire for a clear understanding of his work in a variety of ministries, care for himself and his community, which has led him to All Hallows College-Dublin City University for his Graduate work in Humanities and Pastoral leadership. Father Mobe's personal experience is critical as a way to build a bridge of understanding about the impact that AIDS has on African women.

Why did I pick such a big project? I feel it is very important to understand the cultural and social differences which may predispose African women to AIDS. I have always had a fascination, a kind of love affair with Africa. AIDS is a personal problem that has turned into a public issue for Africa. This thesis project offers me an opportunity to explore how personal tragedy has crossed into the public sphere, and how we in the United States can translate our empathy into some kind of ameliorative action. A learning project that bridges the gap of understanding can combine the perspective of a local resident, like Father Mobe, who has chosen a path of making life better for his people, supported by the theoretical and data-based background available to us through academic research. This project should prove a useful tool to those who wish to understand the AIDS crisis in Africa. My hope is that this project will not only be used as a learning tool but also provide a tool for teaching.