Christian college attempts to clear air on HIV/AIDS response

DESPITE heavy campaign on HIV/AIDS in Western Highlands and the country, people are still confused about how they should respond and deal with people infected with the disease.
In response, the Christian Leaders Training College (CLTC) in Banz has launched a month-long training of 32 community and church leaders from Banz and Kinjipi.
Training facilitator and CLTC dean of students Peter Gigmai said the rural communities were not fully aware of how to respond to the epidemic.
“They are not sure how to care for those infected and often treat them with stigma and discrimination.
“The epidemic is spreading at an increasing rate and many people in this province are already infected with the virus,” he said.
Mr Gigmai said the training would clarify any doubts they had on the epidemic through open dialogues, such as question and answer sessions.
“The training is also aimed at developing surrounding communities to be better  which is also one of the aims of the college,” he said.
The training started on Monday and will end next Monday.
CLTC is the servant of the churches of the South Pacific and focuses on training men and women for Christian ministry and leadership and has centers in Lae and Port Moresby.
It was established in 1965 by the Melbourne Bible Institute and currently offers courses such as the one-year certificate in rice training, diploma in ministry, distance theological education and bachelor of theology.
The Lae and Port Moresby centres offer urban ministry internship certificate and diploma in ministry.
Students from within the country and neighbouring pacific countries are accepted through recommendations by churches.
The college is also involved in cattle, poultry, rice and vegetable farming.