From left: Frank Ruiz, Stacy Lippert, Mike eorguson and Associate Pastor Glen Barnes are four of the key people from Lodi First Baptist Church who have spent hours organizing this week's "Step Into Africa Experience" AIDS exhibit, which will be open to the public. (Ross Farrow/News-Sentinel)

Community invited to learn about AIDS epidemic in Africa

You will have the opportunity to see an African child from a remote country in which AIDS runs rampant as you walk through a virtual African village.

Through your journey, the child you're accompanying will be tested for HIV at the health clinic. Together, you will learn his fate.

That's the setting for a half-hour walk this week through the gymnasium at Lodi's First Baptist Church. The child is real, but he won't be there with you. Nevertheless, through headphones (in English or Spanish) and photography, you will learn all about this child and his life in a land where AIDS is commonplace, and where children and their parents die at an early age.

Called "Step Into Africa Experience," the audio tour is produced by World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to help them reach their full potential and tackling the causes of poverty and injustice, according to World Vision.

Some 300 people from the Lodi area have already volunteered at least one four-hour shift to help organize the event, which will be held from Thursday through Monday, said Glen Barnes, an associate pastor at First Baptist, who is in charge of the Lodi effort. The event is free, and the public is invited.

On Wednesday, about 25 people will set up the exhibit during a 12-hour period in the First Baptist gym. The exhibit is just under 3,000 square feet, Barnes said.

"We have drawn from several local churches and high school groups, and people's response has been immediate," volunteer coordinator Stacy Lippert said.

While the AIDS exhibit is being held at First Baptist, Barnes maintains it is not a church event.

"The idea is to get the word out about AIDS in Africa, and what people in the U.S. can do to help," Barnes said.

In addition to Lodi First Baptist, participating churches include Heartland Community, Temple Baptist and Sojourn in Lodi, Grace Community Fellowship in Woodbridge, Horizon Community in Galt and First Baptist in Stockton.

More than 600 children in the small south African country of Lesotho are sponsored by Lodi and Galt residents to receive education, health care, food, clothing and spiritual assistance through World Vision, Barnes said.

While you will meet one African child, there will be four children who will be profiled. You can hear about the life of a second child if you walk through a second time.

There will be several groups going through the exhibit. They include middle school students on Thursday night, church leaders on Friday morning, high school students on Saturday night and community leaders the morning of March 3. Other groups taking tours include moms and men.

Forty people will be able to take the tour at one time. However, Barnes advises people to avoid a long wait in line by reserving a date and time through the World Vision Web site.

Lodi is one of 80 cities hosting the AIDS exhibit, which has run from 2007 and is continuing this year. Barnes expects about 500 people to walk through the exhibit on each of the five days at First Baptist, and more than 300,000 people are expected for the two-year national tour.

"I'm excited," said Frank Ruiz, a volunteer who created banners and signs for the exhibit. "I can hardly wait to see this thing come together."

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.