A Critical Examination of The United Baptist Church's Response to HIV AIDS in Mutare District from 2004-2014: A Case Study of Hope for AIDS Zimbabwe Ministry in

Abstract

The study of this dissertation among others is centralized on A Critical Examination of the United Baptist Church’s Response to the HIV/AIDS Pandemic in Mutare District: A Case Study of HOPE for AIDS Zimbabwe Ministry (HAZM) in Dangamvura and Sakubva from 2004 to 2014. The study was carried out using the following methodologies; the case study, descriptive and evaluation approaches. The research was both quantitative and qualitative though to a greater extent it was qualitative. The quantitative approach was very pertinent when analyzing the research findings while using tables and figures. The qualitative approach was important in that the researcher managed to capture the attitudes and feelings of the respondents which were very essential for the study. Questionnaires, interviews, nonparticipant and participant observations were used in accumulating data. For sampling purposes, the researcher used the purposive, stratified and random sampling techniques for selecting the population to study. The respondents to this dissertation are pastors and their congregants. They bring to light what the United Baptist Church is doing through HAZM in Dangamvura and Sakubva in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. HAZM has established two programmes which are the Children’s Ministry and Enabling Churches in response to the pandemic. The Children’s Ministry is aimed at helping orphans and vulnerable children and teaching all children HIV/AIDS awareness from a biblical perspective. The Enabling Churches programme is aimed at making the congregants of Dangamvura and Sakubva aware of the pandemic and empower them on what they should do in the face of such a threat to human life and dignity. It is important to note that, this research is divided into five chapters. The first chapter being the general introduction. The second chapter reviews literature that is in line with the study on churches’ responses to HIV/AIDS. At best the notable scholars are those who write for the EHAIA series of the World Council of Churches. These are the likes of Ezra Chitando and Sue Parry. Chapter three looks at the methodology the researcher used to accumulate her data while chapter four analyses and interprets the data accumulated. The dissertation ends with chapter five which gives a summary of the whole study, conclusion and recommendations.