World Vision has partnered with Fresno Hope to present the Step Into Africa experience at Campus Bible Church, Oct. 3-12. This interactive exhibit, open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, portrays the life of African children suffering from AIDS.

The exhibit takes guests through replicas of poverty-stricken villages and huts. Audio recordings guide guests as they walk through the everyday life of an African child. This enables guests to see, hear and experience what life is like to a child impacted by the AIDS crisis.

At the end of the guided tour, there will be opportunities to sponsor and donate to help solve the AIDS epidemic.

To promote the event, World Vision representatives and Executive Pastor Matt Cook spoke at chapel, Sept. 30.

“We want students and families to come experience the exhibit and learn about the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time, the HIV/AIDS pandemic,” Cook said. “This crisis has completely ravished parts of sub-Saharan [south of the Sahara Desert] Africa.”

According to the organization’s website, “Sub-Saharan Africa, home to just 12 percent of the world’s population, accounts for two out of three people living with HIV.”

Andy Smith of World Vision hopes that the exhibit will impact students and open their awareness.

“I’m absolutely convinced that high school students need to be aware of the worldwide crisis of HIV and AIDS in Africa,” Smith said. “We’re hoping that through the ‘Step Into Africa’ experience, they’ll be encouraged to go through it, and enable students to become aware. This is an opportunity for students to experience for themselves what it would be like to live in a family impacted by HIV and AIDS.”

Step Into Africa is free and open to the public. Advance reservations for a time-slot and free tickets for groups or individuals can be obtained on World Vision’s website.

For more information, call Matt Cook at 559.978.5635.

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