For a video clip of Fr Deus’ presentation, click here: here
[Reprint of Pueblo Chieftain article from Dec 1, 2017 cited below]
The Rev. Ssekabira Deusdedit, a Catholic priest, has seen the devastation HIV/AIDS has caused in his home country of Uganda.Deusdedit’s family lived at Ground Zero of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the city of Rakai, Uganda, where the insidious virus was first discovered.”It is a very, very hard, terrible disease,” Deusdedit said. “People died. From our village, almost 10 people died each week. Almost every house, every family was affected.” Initially, no one knew the cause. That created more confusion and fear. “People thought it was superstition,” Deusdedit said. Eventually, medical experts were brought in from the outside. From them, Ugandans learned that the scourge that was plaguing their country had been identified as HIV/AIDS. They also learned that the disease was transmitted sexually and through blood contact.
Finding a solution While having a better understanding of the virus that was killing the Ugandans at an alarming rate was a step in the right direction, it was only one step. The next several steps required some soul searching, unity, discipline and faith to achieve. In Rakai, HIV/AIDS represented 60 percent of all infectious diseases. Uganda as a whole had a HIV/AIDS rate of between 20 and 25 percent, according to the World Health Organization. “We talk about medically, can a person change their sexual behavior?” said Dr. Kim Dernovsek, who, along with her husband Dr. Kenneth Dernovsek, founded Universal Chastity Education in 2003 to support abstinence efforts in Africa. What happened in Uganda was nothing short of remarkable, she said. “This was an entire population, a population who was so surrounded by death and so strongly motivated personally, that they actually got together, on one page, and said, ‘We have got to change our ways.’ ”The answers the Ugandans came up with were abstinence and faithful marriage to one spouse. “It was the whole country,” said Ken Dernovsek. “The government, schools, churches and newspapers all spoke the same message.” But it took more than that to turn Uganda’s HIV/AIDS epidemic around. It also took Christ. “One of the things they tell us about, at the height of this thing,” Ken Dernovsek said, “was that they were on their knees in prayer. One of the things they do is an all-night prayer vigil.” The result was incredible. The incidence of HIV/AIDS infection dropped to 5 percent, according to the World Health Organization’s 2001 report.
Prayer vigil To commemorate the 12th annual World AIDS Week, UCE, along with Deusdedit, will participate in an Agape meal and an all-night prayer vigil today at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 1132 W. Oro Grande Drive in Pueblo West. The meal begins at 5:15 p.m. The all-night prayer vigil begins at 7 p.m. In between, Deusdedit will talk about Uganda’s battle against HIV/AIDS. The meal and prayer vigil are open to all, regardless of religion, said Sarah Smith, one of the event organizers. Although reservations are not required for the meal or the prayer vigil, they would be appreciated, Smith said. To make a reservation, contact Smith at 248-8828 or email contact@uceglobal.org.
Changing lives Before the HIV/AIDS scourge there were many instances of youngsters having sex prior to marriage, and polygamy was widely practiced in Uganda. “The situation was ripe for the spread of the disease,” Ken Dernovsek said. Now, through education and Christian influence, the drive is to have youth abstain from sex until marriage. Staying faithful to one wife also is important, Deusdedit said.
In his role as youth chaplain over more than 1 million Catholics, Deusdedit regularly calls on schools. In a testament to his message and his effectiveness, even Muslim schools have asked him to come talk to the students about the abstinence program. Youngsters involved in the program are given cards they sign attesting to the fact that they have abstained from pre-marital sex. “It’s a big deal,” Ken Dernovsek said. “The kids present the cards to their spouse on their wedding day. It means a lot to them.” Deusdedit said he stresses that God is a forgiving God. The message is a powerful one, and is attracting growing numbers of Ugandans. It isn’t uncommon for Deusedit to speak before 1,000 to 2,000 people on a Sunday. Many of them walk to church, often covering distances of 12+ miles.
More work to do Deusdedit said his goal is to reduce the HIV/AIDS infection rate to less than 5 percent in Uganda. The program has been so successful that UCE officials have taken it to Tanzania and Burundi, as well. Faith remains a big part of the program’s success. “The people told us over and over again, ‘We fell to our knees in prayer,’ ” Kim Dernovsek said. “When you are at funerals all the time, you begin to think about life. In order to live, I must change.” The Dernovseks said the all-night prayer vigils were going on long before they arrived in Africa. “The message of Christ is one of forgiveness,” Smith said. “It allows people to start all over again.” Added Ken Dernovsek, “As they say, today is the first day of the rest of your life. “Our God is a God of second chances. It’s so good for us all to remember,” he said. “This message, starting over, wherever one is in their walk of life, single or married. This is a restorative message for health and for spiritual health.”
DEC 1, 2017
[Reprint of chieftain article located at http://www.chieftain.com/life/religion/african-priest-local-doctors-talk-curbing-hiv-aids/article_b732239f-74a2-5e28-a5fa-d6aab4427db4.html]
BY MIKE SPENCE THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN MSPENCE@CHIEFTAIN.COM
