May 11--AIDS and Africa are so closely connected it's difficult to talk about one without the other. Children are dying every day, the retroviral drugs are too expensive for most African clinics to purchase and distribute, and entire villages are now without a single adult person in them. It's overwhelming and sometimes it's just easier to tune it all out.

Next weekend, World Vision -- a Christian relief organization that is dedicated to helping children living in poverty -- brings a unique opportunity to tune in on a very personal level, when the exhibit "World Vision Experience: AIDS" goes up at First Presbyterian Church.

"We are really not trying to reach your wallet, we're trying to reach your heart," said Pastor Kevin Finch of First Presbyterian. Life Center, Whitworth Community Presbyterian Church and St. Aloysius Catholic Parish are the other sponsors of the exhibit.

The 3,000-square-foot interactive exhibit is a museum-quality reproduction of an African village, complete with homes, a market and a clinic. Visitors don headphones and are guided through the exhibit tracing the footsteps of an actual African child, at one point visiting a medical clinic and finding out whether or not the child they are following has AIDS -- then they experience the impact a diagnosis has on the child's life.

"At the end of your tour through the exhibit you get a chance to pick up a child sponsorship, or you can make a one-time cash donation," said Michael Yoder, director of donor engagement for World Vision. "We also offer several opportunities for you to become an advocate for the poor -- or for how to send letters or sign a petition asking Congress to continue funding for a global AIDS bill."

More than 2 million children worldwide have HIV -- human immunodeficiency virus -- which can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), for which there is no cure.

Yoder said using an interactive exhibit as a way to create more awareness about a cause is a little unusual for a non-profit, but ultimately effective.

"We want to spread the message about the greatest humanitarian crisis in history," said Yoder. "Our secondary mission is that we wanted to wake up the church, wake up the congregations and let people realize that the church could be a leader in bringing this issue to life in a community."

Finch echoed that statement during a lunch leading up to the exhibit.

"This is not just a Christian issue," Finch said. "We are not just gathering the churches. We are hoping to find a way to spread the message about the AIDS crisis through the faith-based networks that already exist."

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