A Pastoral Statement. To the Catholic faithful and all people of goodwill. Grace, mercy and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
“This is what Yahweh asks of you, only this: to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
On the occasion of our January 2013 Plenary, we want to take this opportunity to raise pertinent issues on the state of our nation.
the Discrimination and Violence Against Womenby Evans K. Chama, M.Afr, Printed by Montfort Media, Balaka, Malawi, 2011
Contents: 1. What is Gender Equality? 2. Can there be Gender Equality in Marriage? 3. The Image of Women and Their Work 4. Raising a Female Child Today 5. I Will Marry a Woman Like Mum 6. How Much Does Your Daughter Cost? 7. My Wife, A Maize Field? 8. Women’s Dependence on Men 9. Love Potions, Are Women Just Nasty? 10. Romance 11. If Your Husband Does Not Beat You… 12. Why The Silence When Abused? 13. What Does Being a Widow Entail? 14. Property Grabbing: A Mere Criminal Act? 15. Approach to Gender Equality.
The wind of change is blowing, sending waves tossing up and down stirring up what has existed undisturbed for centuries. In this rousing the world is being hatched from its centuries-old shell to new birth. We are in the time of awakening, maturing too perhaps. Once again we are challenged to take distance from our own cultures and traditions, our own identity, in order to reflect in a disinterested way on our society and on ourselves. Certainty we marvel at our beauty that often overflows unnoticed, yet still, we also realise there is some mopping up to do somewhere. (…)
Books for sale at Woodlands House, 1 Mwapona Road, Lusaka, at the cost of ZR 30
A WOMAN LIKE MUM: Reviewed by Mphuthumi Ntabeni
Zambian-born Fr Evans Chama’s book, A Woman Like Mum: How Customs and Popular Sayings Contribute to the Discrimination and Violence Against Women, is apt for our country and times.
DREAMS. Where do Biblical, Zambian, and Western Approaches Meet? First book published by FENZA (Faith and Encounter Centre Zambia), Lusaka. January 2013. With contributions from Gotthard Rosner, Bernard Udelhoven and Patrick Mumbi.
What does the Bible say about dreams? What do Zambian cultures say? And how does this all mix with Western psychology? Dreams are important in Zambia. Yet when Christians try to find meaning in their dreams, they have to juggle with very different worldviews. This book is written for all who have an interest in dreams, from the perspectives of Zambian cultural traditions, psychology and theology. It clarifies some important issues and is of special benefit for those who help people in the pastoral field to deal with compelling dreams experiences.
Available at FENZA at the cost of ZR 40.
“Come to me, all you who work hard and who carry heavy burdens and I will refresh you” (Matthew 11: 28).
The Ministry of Inner Healing and Reconciliation (MINHER) offers Counselling Sessions and Healing Retreats. These two services are offered in order to bring inner healing and reconciliation to a person experiencing the following problems:
1. Suicide and thoughts of death: Haunted by feelings of wanting to commit suicide or thinking of committing suicide. 2. Trauma: Being very much disturbed by a very powerful shocking and sad event that has happened in your life. Experiencing being haunted (troubled, disturbed, or chased) by the bad experience that happened to you in the past. 3. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Experiencing intense fear, shock and helplessness as a result of remembering a very sad event that happened to you in the past. 4. Bereavement: Intense, shock, sadness and sorrow after the death of somebody you love very much. Recurrent and disturbing dreams especially after the death of your beloved person (parent, spouse, child, brother/sister). 5. Depression & Anxiety: Persistent feelings of hopelessness and pessimism. Feelings of worthlessness, guilt and helplessness. Loneliness, sleeping too much, not wanting to socialise or come out of bed or house. Difficulties and fear in making decisions (especially important ones). Restlessness, anxiety and experiencing intense fear, worries or empty mood. Insomnia (lack of sleep). Not feeling yourself, especially after a shocking event. Lack of confidence and enthusiasm in your life. 6. Healing and Renewal Retreats for Christians: for those who want to be healed from the wounds of the past, who want to have more personal relationship with God, who want to grow in freedom and peace with God and with each other. 7. Bipolar Disorders: Having two extremes when acting: either happy or very sad. Lack of balance in your life; either very excited or very depressed. Sudden changes of mood (mood swings).
All the services are offered in strictly confidential and non-judgemental environment!
Counselling Sessions. First option: Individual Counselling Sessions in a package of 4 to 7 sessions offered once a week between Tuesdays to Thursdays on agreed time. Second option: three days individually guided Healing Retreat with a session once a day on agreed date and time.
Fees. First option: Counselling Sessions: Negotiable. Second option of three days residential (including full board) and Healing Retreat: KR 750.
Where to find MINHER. MINHER is located at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in SERENJE at about 7 kilometres from the first “T” junction on the Great North Road, coming from Lusaka.
Who to Contact? Fr. Oswald Mallya, M.Afr (Psychotherapist/Counsellor).
St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Box 850018, SERENJE, Zambia. Telephone: 097-856-7684/095-585-2771. E-mail: oswaldmallya@yahoo.com
Addressing poverty continues to be identified as a major challenge for Malawian society and has been a central topic that successive governments have attempted to tackle or at least pretended to do so. Commitments in Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS), pronouncements in the newly launched Economic Recovery Plan (ERP) and various key government documents underscore that view. However, in spite of all these attempts to address poverty the reality is grim: poverty in Malawi remains severe and widespread – a situation that leaves millions to grapple, on a daily basis, with the unabating increase in food and essential non-food commodities. The ever rising cost of living presents to the country an extremely serious challenge upon which all efforts must be concentrated so as to ease people’s daily suffering. (…)
Oswald Mallya has just completed his Masters in Counselling. His dissertation is entitled: Will the Psychotherapist(s) eventually replace priest(s) as the physicians of the soul? The related question behind this research is to understand why some Catholics opt paying for the help of a psychotherapist instead of asking for spiritual direction from a priest who will welcome them free of charge. Why are some Catholics abandoning the Confession or the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which has been used as the
Sacrament of Healing by our Church for about 2000 years?
From those interviewed, the main reason mentioned is the issue of time. Basically, priests have no time to listen. They are too busy. Moreover, some of them are unfriendly or have an unapproachable character. Finally, the sacrament of reconciliation, in its actual form, does not allow people to share their inner self for lack of time. Oswald hopes to pursue his research once back to Serenje as parish priest.
Congratulation to Father Marc Nsanzurwimo who completed recently his doctorate at the Pontificia Università Urban
iana in Rome. His thesis, entitled The Funeral in Zambia with Particular Reference to the Lala People of Serenje, is focusing on rites and customs from which life flows within and between the visible and invisible worlds. The research is a reflection on funeral as a locus for inculturation within the context of evangelization and encounter between African traditional religion and the Church.
Marc is very happy about his achievement. Moreover, he was pleased to see that a student consulted his thesis on the same day he put his document in the FENZA library.
In the coming weeks, he intends to finish gathering some reflections which he started to do years ago with some parishioners of Regiment Parish. Hopefully, with some funds, another book will be ready for publication by January 2013 with the title; Regiment Parish, St Charles Luangwa, 70 years of Evangelization and Social Concern.
We wish Marc Nsanzurwimo to enjoy making more research in line with the vocation of FENZA Centre where he has now been appointed.
Home of Hope is a Centre which gives shelter to the homeless boys that are found on the streets of Lusaka in order to rescue them from the vicious circle of homelessness: street-drugs-abuse-crime. It has become a half-way home with the purpose of re-integrating those children back in their families and main stream society. Statistics show that 90 % of street children are boys. The girls are referred to other NGOs with a similar outreach program.
The Centre was founded in 1998 by the Catholic Women’s League of Lusaka at the request of the then Archbishop of Lusaka R.R. Medardo Mazombwe. The League is still in charge of advocacy, sourcing funds and development of the premises as well as its running costs.
Being within its boundaries, the Catholic Parish of Good Shepherd was involved from the very beginning of the Centre. The first basic structures were built within the property of St. Lawrence Community Centre under the supervision of the Missionaries of Africa.
In 2011, Home of Hope admitted 68 homeless boys from whom 37 of them ran away at one point or another. Most of them came back and were readmitted. A total of 24 boys were successfully reintegrated to their families while others are still under the care of the Centre by providing them with educational support. Some children were very young. Two of them were 6 years old, one 8 and several boys within the range from 9 to 11 years old. Two brothers came from Ethiopia and two young ones from DRC/Congo.
The Centre works closely with Social Services (DSWO), Child Protection Unit of Zambia Police (CPU) and International Organization for Migrants (IOM). As a joint effort, Home of Hope has managed to take two cases (assault and child sexual abuse) to the Court of Law.
The year 2011 was marked by many types of violence among the population of homeless youth and children in Lusaka. Among these, the most common were assaults. But cases of murder, child sexual abuse, abortion and suicide were also registered. At various moments, the Centre was instrumental in transporting dead children to the Lusaka Mortuary, obtaining legal documentation and informing relatives of the deceased when possible. At the moment Home of Hope employs four teachers. Six dormitories are sheltering 48 boys. Our confrere Jacek Rakowski is involved at the Centre for many years now. Child protection policy guidelines are in place for the wellbeing of the children as much as for the staff of the Centre.
According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ndola), the population of Ndola has reached 774,757 inhabitants. Founded in 1904 by John “Chiripula” Stephenson, just six months after Livingstone, Ndola has always been an administrative town linked with the Rhodesian Railway as early as 1907. Over time, Ndola became the capital of the Copperbelt.
The Franciscan Conventuals from Italy arrived in 1931 and the White Fathers came a year later. For many decades, Ndola was the centre of the country until the seventies when Lusaka grew in size and importance, being the capital. Ndola airport was the entry point in Zambia for a long time. This is why Ndola became a vital centre for all the dioceses of Northern Zambia. Lorries were sent to get all the necessary goods for those dioceses. The Procure of Ndola has been a vibrant place for over half a century until better roads and general development in the country allowed the Northern part of Zambia to find other ways to meet its own needs. Like the town, the activities of the Procure went down. Fortunately, our confreres are still very active in various pastoral activities as hospital Chaplain or ministering in parishes like New Kaloko and others. As Ndola seems to resurrect economically from its lethargy with the prospect of major investments in a new oil refinery from private investors, our missionary presence may also increase in near future.
Still in Ndola are our confreres Reinhold Bloching and Piet Verkleij. Denis Laliberté went back home to Canada for health reason as well as Maurits De Weerdt to Belgium for his retirement. Jules Roy joined the community recently.
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