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Pam Stenzel tours South Africa!

posted on: 2009-06-15 07:20:28
by: Fr. François
Province: AFM - Africa South

Abstinence campaigner, Pam Stenzel, an internationally respected expert on sex, love, and relationships, made a whistle-stop conference tour of the SACBC region last week and spoke to over 6000 youths in 5 days.

In 1964 a fifteen-year-old girl was raped, became pregnant, and decided to carry her unborn child to term. The young mother placed her child with an adoptive family. That child was Pam Stenzel. She is the oldest of 8 children - 7 adopted - 1 biological.

Under the title “Sex Has a Price Tag”, Pam addresses audiences worldwide, and is so much in demand she is booked up three years in advance, speaking to over 500,000 teens a year. She became a Catholic in 2002 when together with her husband she was received into the church. Her mission is to revive the character and integrity of todays youth. She reminds us that we have already got a long term solution to the HIV/AIDS pandemic; it is as simple as ABC. Abstinence until marriage; Being faithful once married; and Chastity for all.

The Southern African tour started with a youth rally on Pentecost Sunday at Bosco Youth Centre, Gauteng with a programme which included praise & worship, testimonies and an outdoor mass. Pam addressed a crowd of approximately 450 for 95 minutes, non-stop, keeping everyone riveted to their seats all the way through, and delivering an immensely powerful message. At the end of the day bibles were handed out to all high school young people sponsored by the Pauline sisters and Salesians of Don Bosco, as a way for them to continue to nourish their spirit.

Pam had just completed a fortnights tour of conferences in Nigeria, and arrived exhausted from Lagos on a flight that very morning, but did not let her weariness show.

The following day, after a quick tour of Soweto, Pam spoke for an hour and a half at Robertsham parish, to parents, catechists, teachers, priests and religious, and a group of thirty students from St Johns College, about Teenage Relationships, sexuality and Family issues.

Then she travelled to Manzini in Swaziland where on the Tuesday, a large gathering of approximately 4,500 pupils from a dozen high schools, gathered at the Bosco Arena for a whole day program. National papers gave the event front page coverage with photos and articles. National Swazi TV news gave it a lengthy report too.

Then Pam travelled to Cape Town where she gave two more conferences at Immaculata School in Wynberg and Savio Hall in Lansdowne on Thursday, both times to at least 500-strong captivated audiences. As a bonus, listeners had a curtain raiser in the form of the professional theatre group, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, who performed a support act at each of the appearances during the tour.

This exceptional tour was co-sponsored by Metanoia Media Ministries and the Salesians of Don Bosco. Audio-visual records of it will soon be available from Norman Servais and should be a very useful resource for any catechetical centre and youth chaplaincy.

Orders available from Norman.servais@gmail.com

Francois Dufour sdb