Lechaptois (Balaka) Drama Group – 125 Anniversary of Cardinal Lavigerie’s Antislavery Campaign
As part of the Malawi Sector’s commemoration of the Cardinal’s Antislavery Campaign the M.Afr students in the SAP First Cycle will come to Lilongwe on Monday on 25th March to perform two short plays and a poem at two venues: St Francis Parish and Crossroads Hotel.
Luntha TV will be there to film the plays and discussion on Tuesday. They will air it and we hope to have a DVD that can be circulated.
Everyone is welcome both at St Francis and Crossroads.
The events will take place as follows:
Date: Monday 25th March 2013
Time: 3-5.30 p.m.
Venue: New Hall, St Francis, Kanengo, Lilongwe (A25).
Programme: 1. Play 1 – “Cheap Labour”- slavery in the past. 2. Poem – Africa, where are you? 3. Play 2 – “The Changed Identity of Slavery” – slavery / human trafficking in the present. 4. Discussion.
Date: Tuesday 26th March 2013Time: 6-8.30 p.m.
Venu: The Auditorium, Crossroads Hotel, Lilongwe (A3)
Programme: 1. Welcome – by MC Wisdom Chimgwede. 2. Opening Prayer. 3. Introduction – Bill Turnbull. 4. Play 1 – “Cheap Labour”- slavery in the past. 5. Poem – Africa, where are you? 6. Play 2 – “The Changed Identity of Slavery” – slavery / human trafficking in the present. 7. Link – just a few words. 8. Panel and open discussion. 9. Closing remarks. 10. Closing prayer. 11. Drinks and snacks.
Rural Basic Needs Basket Analytical report for January 2013 in Malawi shows that the majority of rural households are poor since they are living below a dollar a day.
During the month of February, CfSC’s Rural BNB project conducted a Rapid Rural Appraisal in its operation areas to assess the availability and prices of maize. It was found out that maize prices ranged between MK 7000 and MK 10,000 a bag of 50 kg. This was too much expensive for a rural household. Those who had no or too little maize and money resorted into consuming maize bran. Those who had completely nothing, slept on an empty stomach or could even consume leafy vegetables only. READ MORE
Press statement published in the Daily Times of 21st March, 2013
Press statement published in the Daily Times of 21st March, 2013
Charles Lavigerie, in the context of the Anti-Slavery Campaign proclaimed that “few people, too few people have the ultimate vocation: humanity.” In this interview David Kreider shares with us his life’s journey finding our way back to our humanity. He grew up in Israel-Palestine, that seemingly incessant cauldron of conflict, a place that has nurtured his faith and interests in interfaith engagement, conflict transformation and peace building. In this interview he invites us to explore the beauty of sharing ourselves through the language of art. He says that this language “intrinsically engages us at the level of our heart and soul and imagination, with the impulses of our creative talents and energy, and in non violent forms of expression that inspire our reverence and empathic identifications with each other.” He invites us to surrender to the overwhelming beauty of the unknown in which we live. He says that “the beauty of the Mystery is that it drives us together to comprehend it, which liberates us from our solipsistic inclinations to “enslave” others to our narrow absolutist constructs and worldviews.” READ MORE
Log Smuggling, Illegal Logging, and Corruption in Mozambique
February 2013
A report on the illegal flow of timber from Mozambique to China featuring detailed case studies revealing smuggling techniques, specific examples of corruption and the collusion of senior Mozambique politicians with Chinese timber exporters.
This document was produced with the financial assistance of the Department for International Development (DFID) Forest Governance Markets and Climate programme.
The contents are the sole responsibility of Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of DFID.
Conclusion of the report:
Mozambique is a signatory to the Yaounde Ministerial Declaration on African Forest Law Enforcement and Governance, committing itself to 42 indicative actions against illegal logging and associated trade, corruption, and to promote improved forest governance. Given the problems outlined in this briefing, it is clear these commitments have not been met.
The discrepancy in official export/import data in volumes of timber traded between Mozambique to China demonstrates the scale of illegal exports and how they drive illegal logging in the country.
The tax revenue lost to this trade harms Mozambique’s capacity to fund improved forest management and law enforcement, as well as community poverty alleviation schemes.
Government efforts to control the illegal timber trade, by increasing the number of seizures, legislating for greater fines and by increasing the VAT tax on the export of logs, have been undermined by the persistence of the illegal operators protected by political patronage.
These problems should by now have raised concerns from the relevant Mozambican authorities and their Chinese counterparts, leading to an investigation regarding any illegalities involved. The fact that these problems continue to blight the proper management of the forest sector is a travesty forMozambique’s forests and for those poor communities who rely on them for their survival.
PDF Document
Online Document
Dreams: Where do Biblical, Zambian and Western Approaches Meet?
The first book published by FENZA was officially launched on Friday 15th March in FENZA Hall. Tens of people attended the launching ceremony. Among the attendants were the Archbishop of Lusaka, Telephone Mpundu; the Rector of St Dominic Major Seminary, Fr. Denis P. Phiri; the M.Afr General Assistant, Fr. Peter Welsh and some visitors from Germany.
In his review, Fr. Denis Phiri – who was the external reviewer – succinctly and eloquently stressed that the book rightly reflects on dreams, a banal and yet puzzling, indicative and educative human experience. In this respect, he endorsed the book as a useful reading for all. Then, the authors of the book Gotthard Rosner, Bernhard Udelhoven and Patrick Mumbi, one after the other explained briefly the themes that the book touches.
To combine the practical with pleasure, all the attendants were invited to convivial refreshments after the ceremony. Meanwhile, copies of the new book were sold and went like hot cakes. All in all, the first book of FENZA was launched in simplicity but with great enthusiasm.
During the questions/comments session, Fr. Justin Matepa, the National Pastoral Coordinator remarked that the book was timely, as the issue of dreams has become a burning pastoral concern today. So, it is the hope of FENZA that Dreams will be of assistance in shedding light on questions about dreams and hence help in clarifying our understanding of dreams. Romaric Bationo, M.Afr
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- Bernhard Udelhoven and Gotthard Rosner
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- Bernhard Udelhoven, Gotthard Rosner and Fr. Denis P. Phiri
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- The attendants
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- Bernhard Udelhoven and Gotthard Rosner
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- Tens of people attended the launching ceremony
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- Bernhard Udelhoven, Gotthard Rosner and Patrick Mumbi
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- Copies of the new book were sold and went like hot cakes
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- The Archbishop of Lusaka, Telesphone Mpundu, Christopher Chileshe and Peter Welsh
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- Convivial refreshments after the ceremony
With great thankfulness to our confrere Reinhold Bloching for his pastoral and social work at New Kaloko Parish, Rt. Rev. Alick Banda gave the sacrament of confirmation to 99 young and some not so young people on the 17th March 2013. This first official visit of the Bishop coincided with the launching of a small book of 25 pages entitle: “St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (New Kaloko)” written by our confrere.
When Reinhold came to New Kaloko in January 1996, he had to face a new world even though he was already in Zambia for many years. He started by making a survey of the population, its religious and tribal composition, its social challenges and the history of this newly created compound where people occupied illegally any open space near the industrial area of Ndola. “As I got more and more involved with our Christians and the population at large, I was also challenged. Thus I started various religious and social initiatives”, wrote Reinhold.
Yearly reports over the development in the compound provided the necessary content for the writing of the book answering the wishes to the Christians of New Kaloko. Printed by Mission Press in Ndola, written in Chibemba, the book is well illustrated and can be purchase in Ndola or at the Missionaries of Africa in Woodlands at the price of only 5 Kwacha.
Congratulations to Reinhold Bloching for this beautiful achievement.
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- On the way to Sunday mass
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- Confirmation at New Kaloko Parish
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- Confirmation at New Kaloko Parish
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- Confirmation at New Kaloko Parish
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- Rt. Rev. Alick Banda
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- Reinhold_Bloching
The Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ),
The Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ)
and the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC)
“I have seen the Miserable State of my People … I have heard their Cry” (Ex 3:7)
We the three Christian Church Mother Bodies namely: the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) and the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) are repeatedly saddened at the rampant political violence that keeps on popping its ugly face especially in the recent by-elections. As people who have a God given mandate of exercising the prophetic mission in our nation and in our time, we cannot tolerate such abominable and immoral acts being committed right before our very eyes. Our nation today, stands at the crossroads and we are in a crisis. We face many challenges related with governance and survival, among which, are increasing levels of poverty among the majority of our people, a pervading cancer of rampant corruption, escalating youth unemployment, the growing gap between the rich and the poor, an education system that is falling apart, a poor health service delivery coupled with the unclear constitution making process, the gagging or muzzling of people’s freedoms, the arrests of the opposition party leaders and human rights violations. As Zambians, we all need to examine our conscience, seek the truth and work towards bringing back hope to our people. READ MORE