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A Swahili proverb says, “When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.” Although it would take millions of spiders and hours of weaving to entrap such a large beast, the message is clear: a multifaceted, united force can do the impossible.

That proverb sums up the mission and goal of Prescription for Hope, the HIV/AIDS ministry of Samaritan’s Purse.

The numbers from the global pandemic can seem overwhelming. Every day, 6,800 people are newly infected with HIV and 5,700 die from AIDS. But there is hope—hope through a united force of compassionate Christians empowered with the knowledge and resources to make a difference in communities around the world.

Prescription for Hope was launched in 2002 to strengthen the international Christian response to HIV/AIDS. Our programs provide the resources for local churches to respond to the deadly disease with compassionate care. As believers reach out to their neighbors with Christ-like love, people living with HIV around the world are coming to know the Good News of Jesus.

In India, HIV-positive people are rejected by educational systems, hospitals, and family members. The strong stigma prevented Arun, a Christian medical researcher, from helping people with AIDS. After attending a Prescription for Hope workshop, he now speaks boldly about the disease and provides home-based care to AIDS sufferers.

Prescription for Hope also has mobilized, equipped, and trained youth workers and Christian leaders in communities throughout Mozambique, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda. The goal is to prevent the spread of new HIV-infections among at-risk youth. After each youth leader is trained, he or she mentors several young people, educating them about AIDS and allowing them to see the effects of the disease firsthand by facilitating compassionate care for people living with HIV. Since the program began in 2005, Samaritan’s Purse has reached over 521,000 youth with HIV/AIDS prevention messages.

Partrick, a 14-year-old Kenyan boy, attended one of our youth education programs at his local church. He was taught about how HIV is spread and about healthy relationships, a concept that was not often applied in Patrick’s village.

It was considered acceptable for girls to be married at a young age, so he didn’t mind when a neighbor befriended his younger sister. Whenever the man came to his house, he would send Patrick to buy candy. When Patrick returned from the store, he found his sister lying on the floor weeping. She wouldn’t stop sobbing, and Patrick couldn’t get her to explain the tears.

Patrick returned early from an errand one day and found the neighbor sexually abusing his sister. The man threatened to stab Patrick if he told anyone about what he had seen.

Patrick was afraid, but what he had learned at his church empowered him to help. He never left his sister’s side, often escorting her from school to their home and keeping a close watch over her. He enlisted the help of his aunt, a Samaritan’s Purse-trained youth educator. Patrick and his aunt went to the authorities, and the man fled the village and was later arrested by police. Patrick said that he may not have recognized the abuse or known how to react if he had not gone through the training.

Prescription for Hope also provides support to mission hospitals through voluntary testing programs and provides care for vulnerable children at orphans who have lost one or both parents to the disease.

As the eldest child in a Mozambique family, 14-year-old Tembe knew what would happen after her father died of AIDS. It would be her responsibility to care for her brothers and sisters. She knew there would be no money left for school fees. Not only that, but in Tembe’s village economic struggles often put unskilled young women at risk of sexual exploitation, early pregnancy, and HIV infection.

Tembe left school and filled her days with fetching water, cooking, cleaning, and working the fields to make sure the family had enough to eat. Despite her hard work, the family continued to face hardships.

Thankfully, Tembe’s life is different today. Through our programs for orphans and vulnerable children, Tembe is back in school. She’s also enrolled in sewing classes at a vocational training center Samaritan’s Purse started in her community. The new skills she’s learning have increased her self-confidence, creativity, and independence. She is also learning about Jesus Christ, and God’s plan and purpose for her.

“I feel good about my life when I am at the center,” she said.

Prescription for Hope Impact

The Samaritan's Purse ministry is empowering Christians around the world to make a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Since 2002:

• 4,517 Christian leaders have been trained and equipped at workshops in Uganda, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Cambodia, Swaziland, Sudan, Liberia, Botswana, India, Ecuador, Papua New Guinea, Mexico, Kenya, Ethiopia, Haiti, Rwanda, Mozambique, Costa Rica, and Zambia.

• We have supported 60 grassroots partners in 28 countries.

• Trained volunteers have made more than 27,600 care visits to people living with HIV/AIDS or orphans and vulnerable children

• 717,049 people have been reached with prevention education and HIV/AIDS awareness

• 33,537 people have been counseled and tested for HIV