CHOOSE TO WAIT PROGRAM VITAL TOOL IN AIDS PREVENTION

Okahandja, Republic of Namibia October, 2007 – Choose to Wait, a program developed in Africa as part of Christ's Hope International's fight against HIV/AIDS, is showing traction with the youth of Africa according to a key benchmarking study conducted among Christ's Hope member nations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

“The study shows that the vital principles of Choose to Wait are providing African youth with an opportunity to break the cycle of HIV/AIDS in Africa” said Sylvia Holtzhausen, a native African and content creator of Choose to Wait. “I believe that this program, along with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ, is going to be a key in helping halt and eventually reverse the tide of HIV/AIDS.”

The Choose to Wait program teaches youth to make choices based on seven Biblical truths about sex and marriage found in the first three chapters of Genesis and provides the skills to maintain these choices. The scope of Choose to Wait includes regular children's clubs where children and teens have an opportunity to learn about Choose to Wait and be exposed to scripture. Many of these children make the commitment to abstinence, and often end up making a commitment to Jesus Christ as well.

The recent study conducted by Christ's Hope International in the summer of 2007, indicated that more than 10,000 children and teens have attended Choose to Wait classes since the beginning of 2007 in the African nations of Namibia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya and Zambia.

“We know that the surest way to avoid HIV/AIDS is to abstain from sex before marriage but God’s plan is greater than that,” says Holtzhausen. “We have not only misused and abused his gift of sex but we have also misused his gift of marriage. The ultimate goal of Choose to Wait is to see redeemed people in good marriages, with happy families, involved in successful work in an AIDS free world.”



Christ’s Hope International is working towards an AIDS free world by bringing the hope of Jesus Christ to those infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS. This includes people in danger of contracting HIV, those suffering from AIDS, their care-givers, and at-risk children whose parents have died due to AIDS. Christ’s Hope International is a non-denominational, African-based ministry with international headquarters in Namibia. Christ’s Hope International was founded in early 2003 and has member nations stretching from Southern Africa to Europe and North America.

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For more information about Christ's Hope International, please contact Eric Kirchner at 407/252-5098, via e-mail at erick@christshope.org or log on to www.christshope.org