Working at NGOs and FBOs in Malawi A Qualitative Study to Explore the Meaning of HIV/AIDS in Relation to Religion and the Role of Spirituality in Service Provisions among Professionals Working at NGOs and FBOs in Malawi Sung Ah Choi, MSW, Ph.C., University at Albany, School of Social Welfare Background Results Social Problem HIV/AIDS Pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa HIV/AIDS Stigma Purpose of the Study To explore how people working at NGOs and FBOs in Malawi experience and understand HIV/AIDS stigmas in relation to their religious beliefs To examine how their religious beliefs and spirituality affect their work in responding to the need of the HIV/AIDS affected populations Theoretical Framework : 1) Social Stigma 2) Social Constructionism Demographics (See a separate sheet) “God fearing has been a major spirituality in my life. God always encourages us to love one another. Love has been a major key for me to do my work very effectively. Without love nothing can be done because when doing community people talk a lot either bad or good but we need to focus ahead. Love is a key to success.” Emerged themes (examples of quotes) The Meanings of HIV/AIDS among HIV/AIDS workers 1) Punishment of God “Yes, HIV/AIDS is a punishment of God, because in Revelation the Bible says that at the end most people would suffer from many diseases. People living with HIV/AIDS die. When people die to a disease, we know that God is punishing them.” (22, Malawian, female-a, program aid) (40 Malawian, male, social worker) 2) Love Your Neighbors  “My faith and God they are very important more than anything else because it Is what defines who I am in this life. It is the faith that helps me understand that PLWHA have a future, they can achieve anything they desire in this life and that it’s not the end of the road. My faith helps me to see them in the same way I can see any other human because we are all equal in the eyes of Lord.” 2) The Consequence of Sin in the Fallen World “HIV/AIDS is not a punishment from God and only He can heal HIV/AIDS. AIDS comes from the devil because his purpose is to kill, lie and destroy, but God gives abundant life.” (36, Malawian, male, clergy) 3) The Consequence of Human Behaviors “I strongly disagree. HIV/AIDS is a consequence of people’s behavior but not a punishment from God. I think God’s heart breaks to see His children suffer in any way and HIV/AIDS in no exception. People experience the consequences of human behavior in all areas of life, but this is not God’s plan. Jesus came to give us life in all its fullness.” (54, Australian, female, social worker) (23, Malawian, male, social worker) 3) The Image of God   “Belief that everyone is an image of God [helps me continue to work with PLWHA]. The church teaches us to love one another without considering the status of others as we are all representing God’s image.” (34, Malawian, female, social worker) 4) An Opportunity to Reach out PLWHA “I see HIV as an opportunity for us to reach out to broken people. I may not have HIV but I am broken in areas of my life too. We all need Jesus Christ and are all called to be His hands and feet. I believe that Jesus values every human and wants a relationship with people no matter what they have done in the past or sickness that they may suffer from. (37, British, male, missionary: education consultant) Religious/Spiritual Practices (The Wesleyan Means of Grace) 1) Love as a practice: 7 participants (35 %) 2) Payer: 10 (50%) 3) The Bible reading and study: 6 (30%) 4) Participating in worship service: 2 (10%) 5) Medical Disease “I look at HIV/AIDS just as any other disease that people can suffer from. Though it is said that it has no cure, personally I understand it [HIV/AIDS] as a curable disease because the bible tells me in Psalms 103 that God is the healer of all the diseases.” (22, Malawian, female-b, teacher) - All study participants were Christians. -The participants’ own stigmatizing attitudes and perceptions were not measured with a quantitative measurement. Religious Beliefs 1) God is Love Methods Methodology: Hermeneutic Phenomenological Qualitative Approach Participants 20 participants recruited from southern Malawi Older than 18 years Had and practice a religion Had work experience for at least 1 year at an NGO and FBO in Malawi Fluent in English Data Collection: Online Surveys & Emails Study Location: Malawi Data Analysis ATLAS.ti (version 7) for qualitative data analysis STATA (version 14.2) for quantitative data analysis Limitations Implications and Conclusion Actions to be taken 1) To examine social work students and current professionals’ own prejudice 2) To utilize spirituality to support HIV/AIDS workers and to enhance the quality of service provisions at NGOs and FBO in Sub-Saharan Africa 3) To create a safe and secure social space for PLWHA in the Christian faith community 4) To deconstruct and reconstruct the biblical message in the era of HIV/AIDS References Agadjanian, V., & Menjivar, C. (2011). Fighting down the scourge, building up the church: Organizational constraints in religious involvement with HIV/AIDS in Mozambique. Global Public Health, 6(S2), 148-162. Campbell, C., Skovdal, M., & Gibbs, A. (2011). Creating social spaces to tackle AIDS-related stigma: Reviewing the role of church groups in Sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS and Behavior, 15(6), 1204-1219. Dahlui, M., Azahar, N., Bulgiba, A., Zaki, R., Oche, O. M., Adekunjo, F. O., & Chinna, K. (2015). HIV/AIDS Related Stigma and Discrimination against PLWHA in Nigerian Population. Plos One, 10(12), e0143749. Parker, R., & Aggleton, P. (2003). HIV and AIDS related stigma and discrimination: A conceptual framework and implication for action. Social Science & Medicine, 57, 13-24.