This year's recipient of the Dr. E.H. Johnson Award will be Karuna Roy, coordinator of the HIV/AIDS Program of the Church of North India. The award honours those "on the cutting edge of mission," and will be presented to Roy at a special luncheon during the 2006 General Assembly in St. Catharines, Ont.
Roy's work focuses those infected and affected by the virus, including women, youth, refugees, drug addicts and prison inmates. Of India's one billion people, there are 5.1 million cases of HIV/AIDS, although Roy said tripling the number gives a more accurate picture.
Despite being labelled as shameless for speaking about such things, Roy is committed to the cause. "I'm too attached to this problem," she said, during an interview with the Record at last year's assembly where she was an ecumenical visitor. "It used to be a challenge for me, now it's a passion. I'll do this work to my dying day." – AM
