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AIDS Educator Says "Hope Changes Everything"
CHICAGO, IL (April 9, 2005) - Two world-traveled speakers spread a "gospel of
hope" to the more than 150 people gathered at North Park University
last Saturday (April 2) for a conference on justice issues, exhorting
them to re-engage in the political process to help fight social ills
around the world.
Princess Zulu, an AIDS educator for World Vision, and Bart Campolo
spoke to the audience as part of the Bread for World Institute
conference. They spoke about more than hunger, however, also focusing
on AIDS, poverty and environmental issues, "because we increasingly
cannot talk about single issues," said Jennifer Pope, North Park's
campus theme coordinator.
Attendees also participated in workshops, heard from other speakers and
watched a video featuring Christian musicians, including Michael W.
Smith and Jars of Clay, which encouraged the United States government
to pledge one percent of its budget to the United Nation's Millennium
Campaign. The campaign has set eight goals to eradicate poverty, hunger
and AIDS by 2015.
The conference was coordinated by Adam Phillips, a presidential scholar
from North Park Theological Seminary who is doing his internship with
Bread for the World. Andrew Freeman, a university student from Berlin,
CT, said he attended the conference because, "I've always had a heart
for justice."
Zulu, who is from Zambia, carries a royal dignity even though
"Princess" is her name, not a title, and preaches with an infectious
smile and laughter. That she could be standing before the conference,
however, was an "act of God's grace."
After her parents, brother, sister, and many friends died of AIDS, she
began going to hospitals to help those who had been diagnosed with the
disease. An inward urging encouraged her to get an HIV test herself.
Zulu learned she had to get permission from her husband for the test,
which he initially refused to grant. He threatened to divorce her if
she went against his wishes. That would have meant she would have been
left on the street with no means of support.
Eventually she was able to get the test and discovered she was
HIV-positive, and later learned that her husband did as well. Despite
her diagnosis, Zulu told the audience that, "There is hope in the midst
of every situation."
"Hope changes everything," she said. "Hope changes the way you walk.
Hope changes the way you look at things."
After learning that she was HIV-positive, Zulu was determined to "be a
voice for those who can't speak for themselves." She began speaking
about AIDS, and at one point, even pretended to be a prostitute so that
when she was picked up by truckers, she could tell them about AIDS.
Her own history, she said, should be a testimonial to what God can do
with an individual life. An executive of World Vision International
discovered her in her village when he first heard her testimony. As a
result, Princess Zulu, 29, became an international spokesperson and
AIDS educator for World Vision's Hope Initiative, a campaign to
mobilize Christians and the general public to take action against the
global HIV/AIDS pandemic. She has traveled to nearly every continent
and has even met with President Bush.
"I long for a day when women won't have to get permission from their
husband" to learn about AIDS, she said. She added that education must
be a priority for women and they must be given equal rights.
"We have to ensure that they get proper training so they can be
whatever they dream," she said.
"I refuse to breakdown but (am determined) to break through," Zulu told
the applauding crowd. "If I die, I want to leave the legacy behind to
speak for those who can't speak for themselves."
Speaking from the first chapter of the Book of James, she reminded
listeners that "pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God" is "to
care for the widows and the orphans in their distress."
Those widows and orphans include all those who have been forced to live
in the streets because of AIDS and poverty. "There are thousands of
tsunamis going on around the world every day," Zulu said.
Campolo followed Zulu and told those gathered to put feet to their
hope, to use their individual gifts as well as their important "gift of
your American citizenship" to benefit the world.
"What does passion for God look like in the street, in the world?"
Campolo asked, answering, "It looks really different for different
people." He told the story of a plumber, who because of his Christian
conviction, provided exemplary service and refused to gouge the poor in
contrast to the other plumbers in the poor community where he lives. He
also told the story of a friend who is a pianist trained at Julliard
who composes pieces that he plays in poor inner-city churches.
"Suddenly you are thinking thoughts you've never thought before. In
these places where things seem so broken down, he weaves these
beautiful tapestries." He also told of how that the owner of Herr's
Potato Chips, a company based in Nottingham, PA, gives away some of his
profits to ministries but also hires people at a fair wage, when others
don't.
But Campolo he also told the people that they had wrongly given up on
using their citizenship to affect the political process. "You can work
at a shelter, and you can feed people at a soup kitchen, but with a
stroke of a pen, a politician can generate a thousand more homeless
people," he said. "We have the ability to convince other people, to get
other people to vote the way we want them to vote. This is a tremendous
gift. You're supposed to use your gifts to help build the kingdom. But
you have the gift of your citizenship to make the world a better
place."
Gesturing and sounding like his father, Tony Campolo, he reminded the
audience that the primary message of the prophets was spoken to those
in power about the way they were mistreating the poor. "They said God
has a different vision for a different kind of society."
"The truth of the matter is that most of the people like you are very
committed to the needs of the poor but you have completely given up on
the political process," he said. "Let's be honest."
He said he understood the cynicism of some, especially because
politicians depend on millions of dollars from the wealthy. "They're
all raising money from the same people, which means they're all owned
by the same people," he said. As a result, "neither the Republicans or
the Democrats represent our values very well."
But the people still can change the conscience of the country, which
will force the politicians to respond, Campolo said. He told them how
Martin Luther King, Jr., asked President Lyndon Johnson to pass a
voting rights bill, but Johnson said that he had used all his political
capital getting the Civil Rights Act passed.
"(King) went down to Selma and he organized a march and the police beat
them up and nearly killed some; they did kill some," Campolo said. When
King organized another march two weeks later, the media had taken
notice and the country was informed of the injustice. "Within five
months a voting rights bill was passed."
"Politicians go the way the wind is blowing," Campolo said, so it was
important to change the consciousness of the country. "When people
decide they are angry about Janet Jackson, two weeks later Janet
Jackson gets dealt with," he said. "People get upset about Janet
Jackson, but they don't get upset about the 30,000 people dying of
hunger."
Campolo said people must get involved in "the weightier matters of tax
policy and the budget." He offered harsh criticism of the budget,
saying, "I can't stand our budget" because it benefits the wealthy at
the expense of the poor. "I know you don't like this budget any better
than I do, and you have a chance to affect the budget," he said.
He challenged everyone to register to vote and write letters saying the
government should set aside one percent of its budget to accomplish the
Millennium Development Goals. He noted that the United States had
committed to seeing the goals become a reality.
In response to the Millennium Development Goals, in March 2002, Bush
proposed creating the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), which is
intended to markedly increase the amount of development assistance
given to countries already making progress toward the goals. Countries
that qualify for the MCA, if they demonstrate good governance
practices, will receive development assistance funds.
"We need to do what it takes to keep our promise," Campolo said. "It's
a good promise. Who's going to make the leadership do what they say
there are going to do?"
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