AJAN

FR. MICHAEL J. KELLY SJ

INSPIRED BY PEOPLE WITH AIDS

"They are the ones who count in my eyes. They are wonderfully heroic people, always continuing to have hope and confidence."

Fr Michael Kelly, an Irish Jesuit and an internationally renowned expert on AIDS, is full of admiration for people infected by HIV. Based in Zambia, he travels the world over to lobby for their rights, focusing his efforts on addressing AIDS through education.

Accepting two awards for his work from the Irish government on 21 March this year, the 77-year-old Fr Kelly dedicated them to people with AIDS. "I see the awards as a tribute to those who are infected, or who have died from the disease, for their courage and bravery," he said. "They are the ones who inspire me, give me real hope and keep me going."

The awards are an annual lecture and a bursary. The lecture on HIV and AIDS will be held annually for three years, and Fr Kelly himself will deliver the first one on World AIDS Day (1 December) 2006. Meanwhile, the bursary will enable Zambian post-graduate students to pursue research related to AIDS and education.

"I was quite overwhelmed that I received this recognition and also by the generosity of the awards," said Fr Kelly. "I am only one of many who have initiated great work in the field of AIDS and education, and it was a humbling honour to be singled out in this way."

A retired professor of education, Fr Kelly is driven by his passion to respond to challenges posed by the epidemic, especially in developing countries, and to go beyond one-dimensional solutions. He advocates holistic responses that include theological, educational, and justice aspects and that offer thorough care of those infected by HIV and affected by AIDS.

Fr Kelly's long involvement started at the University of Zambia in Lusaka, where he served as professor and administrator. Over the years he became the key lecturer in a required course on education and development. "This course made me very aware of the way the AIDS epidemic was impacting on education and making it impossible to attain the goal of universal primary education," he says.

"From about 1990, I included HIV and AIDS in the course, and the attention given to the epidemic increased year by year until my retirement in 2001." One reason for retiring was that he was travelling so extensively for his AIDS work that he did not have enough time for his teaching responsibilities.

His contributions have been honoured time and again. Two weeks before the recognition from Ireland, Fr Kelly received an award from the Forum for African Women Educationalists in Zambia (FAWEZA) - the first Kabunda Kayongo Award - for outstanding contributions to the promotion of girls' education in Zambia.

TWO NEW KELLY BOOKLETS

On 19 April 2006, the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) in Lusaka launched two booklets by Fr Michael Kelly: Faith and AIDS in Zambia and HIV and AIDS: A Justice Perspective.

The publications are a call to the Church to respond more to the challenges posed by HIV and AIDS. The positive role already played by religious communities is praised, and specific ways and means of furthering this response are detailed.

More than anything - and this is the underlying message of both works - Church communities are urged to bring hope, "what the world looks for perhaps more than anything else."

The booklets are available free, in limited number, by writing to jctr@jesuits.org.zm - please indicate how they will be used.

FAITH AND AIDS IN ZAMBIA

"The body of Christ has AIDS." This, according to Fr Kelly, is the conviction we need to have in the face of the crisis, the firm belief that God is in the person suffering from HIV or AIDS. This faith should prompt followers of Christ help carry the burden of people infected or affected.

This is one of the insights shared by Fr Kelly in a set of essays, Faith and AIDS in Zambia. The essays, published by the JCTR over the past few years, have been gathered together to be a "readily accessible educational tool" for use by NGOs and Church communities, as well as health practitioners, political leaders and others.

But the publication is also an appeal for action. "If the body of Christ has AIDS, then we all have AIDS," leads Fr Kelly to insist that "HIV/AIDS is our personal problem and responsibility, not the problem of other people �out there.'" Admitting this is crucial to overcome rampant stigma and discrimination.

Fr Kelly also draws attention to poverty and other social evils that fuel the pandemic. Poor people are at greater risk of succumbing to HIV and AIDS, and "the disease makes the poor poorer." No doubt, "AIDS is increasingly becoming a disease with the face of a woman or girl."

Fr Kelly calls for a "balanced approach" to meet these challenges, based above all on hope. To provide this real hope, the Church cannot stand apart: the answer lies in admitting that she too is infected. "She must proclaim that the body of Christ has AIDS� Only a Church with AIDS can speak effectively and provide hope for a world with AIDS." http://users.online.be/~rikdg/doc3/Kelly_Zambia_2006.doc

HIV AND AIDS: A JUSTICE PERSPECTIVE

"It's someone else's problem" could well be one of the most deeply engrained mindsets about HIV/AIDS, at individual, community and global levels. Fr Kelly thinks so, and his commitment to defeating the epidemic is rooted in his desire to change this bias.

HIV and AIDS: A Justice Perspective is a study based on the premise that responding to the epidemic "is intimately connected with the practice of justice." Fr Kelly starts out from the "strong synergy between AIDS and four basic root causes: a) poverty; b) gender disparities and power structures; c) stigma and discrimination; and d) exploitative global economic structures and practices."

A disturbing global tendency is to make the disease "someone else's problem. This institutionalises stigma and discrimination at the heart of global policy." International attempts to distance the epidemic, by labelling it as a problem of the world's poorest regions, are doubtless harmful.

This unfair approach reflects unjust global trade structures, which oppress poor countries and make their people vulnerable. "Global economic structures and practices have facilitated the continued domination of the AIDS epidemic."

So it is imperative that HIV prevention efforts "be grounded in the broader struggle for social and economic rights for the poor." Fr Kelly writes: "For AIDS-stricken countries and households, �make poverty history' is more than a slogan. It is a cry from the hearts of oppressed people to be freed from the domination of the unjust and exploitative situations that bind them to poverty and tether them to HIV and AIDS."

Abusive relationships also come under the spotlight. The study stresses that responding to HIV and AIDS calls for "robust, sustained and specific action" against discrimination. Linked to this is a "just sexuality": the study examines the extent to which injustice occurs in sexual behaviour which victimises girls and women.

Women's access to antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and proper care is scrutinised, as Fr Kelly considers AIDS treatment from a justice perspective. He comes to the conclusion that "notwithstanding its enormous benefits, the treatment of AIDS bristles with still unanswered justice, equity, ethical and practical questions." These include: equity in access, the sustainability of costs, and assurance of necessary continuation of treatment.

Ultimately, the study is an invitation to ground HIV and AIDS work in the wider struggle for justice and human rights, moving away from narrowly pharmaceutical solutions or methods limited to behaviour change.

The JTCR adds recommendations for action by governments, international donors, the Church, the medical sector, NGOs and families. http://users.online.be/~rikdg/doc3/Kelly_Justice_April_2006.doc

IN MEMORY OF BRIGITTE

Fr Kelly pays tribute to the courage and spirit of a Zambian AIDS activist, one of the many people with the virus who have inspired his work:

Brigitte Syamalevwe was diagnosed with HIV about 1992 and from then on spoke openly about her status, a powerful and internationally acclaimed advocate and speaker who, as a fluent speaker of English and French, was able to reach audiences all over Africa.

She refused to take expensive ARVs, even though donors were willing to pay for them, because they were not available for her fellow-Zambians. Losing her husband to AIDS in October 2002, she almost immediately resumed her involvement with infected families near Ndola to ensure they had ploughed their fields in preparation for the oncoming rainy season and that they had the necessary seed and other inputs.

She went to London in mid-November when her youngest and most loved son was dangerously ill of cancer. In London, she heard about his death on the same evening that she addressed the Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR). She also gave a long BBC interview on the same day. She would not allow her grief to interrupt what the young man had told her was her God-given mission - to speak fearlessly against the disease and to continue doing so even if she received bad news about him - and then she returned to Zambia for his funeral.

Finally in February 2003, so overwhelmed by grief and weariness that she did not send to collect the ARVs I had bought for her, she let her great spirit soar to God in a quiet and peaceful death.

It is impossible not to be inspired by a great woman like this, and she is representative of many great women in Zambia and throughout Africa and of many who carry the virus. I pray that the day will come when we will move towards canonizing the likes of Brigitte, to represent African women and to represent the wonderful people living with HIV.

(AJANews no. 45 - June 2006)