 | | Photo courtesy: ProLiteracy Worldwide |
Bible women spread word through Asia1/20/2004 News media contact: Linda Bloom · (212) 870-3803 · New York A UMNS Report By Kelly Martini* Erlincy
Rodriguez, a pastor and deaconess, travels to five rural communities in
Davao, the Philippines, to teach about health issues and also conducts
three-day seminars on HIV/AIDS in Western Visayas. She
takes along "health begins at home" manuals, translated in native
tongues, with cultural images that are appropriate for her country.
Though many of the women from the villages she visits cannot read, she
communicates through a method introduced to her in a "Bible Women"
training sponsored by the Women's Division, United Methodist Board of
Global Ministries, and developed by ProLiteracy Worldwide (formerly
Laubach Literacy International and Literacy Volunteers of America, Inc). Using
a simple, learning-focused technique, she teaches rural women to make
herbal bath soaps for their personal use and to sell for income. She
shows them how herbal plants from their surroundings can be used for
medicines. And she teaches them about HIV/AIDS and its prevention. "'I belong to where I am needed' is my motto," Rodriguez says. It's
the motto of many of the Bible Women who belong to the rapidly
spreading program that began three years ago. Their actions demonstrate
how some of the greatest evangelization takes place when people live out
their faith. In Malaysia, their work has already reached more than
3,000 people in the rural villages of Sarawak and the remote towns of
Sabah. Christmas Day marked the baptism of 85 new Christians in a longhouse in Malaysia, a result of the work of Bible Women there. Stories
like those in the Philippines and Malaysia are becoming common
throughout Asia as women in Cambodia, East Malaysia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga,
Solomon Islands, the Philippines, Southern India and Indonesia work as
Bible Women. At
Women's Division trainings, the Bible Women are armed with a knowledge
of issues such as HIV/AIDS prevention, community-based health care,
micro-credit economics and domestic violence. They choose the issue,
based on what they see as the most urgent need in their areas. Together,
they study the Bible, specifically focusing on Jesus' ministry of
healing, challenges and transformation. Then
the women use their knowledge as they travel - many times by foot and
for days at a time - into rural areas and towns. The treks can be brutal
and the weather uncooperative. But the women say they are committed and
believe this is their calling.  | | Photo courtesy: ProLiteracy Worldwide |
As
they teach others about such issues as community health and HIV/AIDS,
they share Bible stories. Materials developed for their culture and
situation are used. They incorporate literacy techniques throughout the
entire training, so that women can learn to read.Once
used as a program of women's missionary societies more than 100 years
ago, the Bible Women concept was reinvented in March 2001. Training
sessions this year are scheduled for Laos, Northern India, Southern
Cambodia and the Tamil areas of West Malaysia. The
Women's Division represents United Methodist Women, a million-member
organization that focuses on fostering spiritual growth, developing
leaders and advocating for justice. Members raise about $20 million a
year for programs and projects related to women, children and youth in
the United States and in more than 100 countries around the world. # # # *Martini is the communications executive for the Women's Division.
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