By Bernhard Udelhoven. An history of the Bemba Kabende and Batwa people of Zambia, narrated by elders, chiefs, headwomen and headmen in the Bemba language.
Ukwisa kwa bantu ku Kabende. Ulwendo lwakwa Shichimbanama na Milanshi Chiba. Ubufuma kwa cina Ngulube. Ubufumu bwakwa Kasoma Bangweulu, Kalasa Mukoso, Mulakwa na Mushili Mufway Ku Mimana Ubufumu bwakwa Sokontwe Makumba Ukwisa kwa ma church.
FENZA Publications, 205 pages, 2015. (First publication printed and distributed in 2004)
The stagiaire Audace Niyonsaba, Burundian, made his declaration of intent on Christmas Day 2015 at Good Shepherd Parish in Kabwata, Lusaka. Witnessing officially the event on behalf of the Missionaries of Africa were Fathers Venerato Babaine and Adelarde Munishi. The Christian communities was very pleased to share the joy of Audace together with the celebration of the birth of Jesus.
Click on the following picture to see the video:
My dear Friends, Christmas Greetings to you all! It is with joy that I write to you on this day after Christmas, which is celebrated here in South Africa as the “DAY OF GOOD WILL”. Consider the message of the angels on Christmas night: “…Peace to people of good will”!
As mentioned in the last Newsletter, on 27th November six of our candidates became officially Missionaries of Africa by taking their missionary oath. The next day, they were ordained deacons. Now they are all gone to different M.Afr parishes in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to help out during their Christmas holidays. They will be back by mid-January for their annual retreat and their last academic year in Cedara.
From 3rd to 6th December, there was the mini World Youth Day in Bosco Centre near Walkerville. Over two thousand youths came from all over, including Botswana and Lesotho! On Saturday 5th, with two youth interested in the M.Afr, we put up our exhibition; many visited it and asked questions. We hope and pray for vocations.
On December 8, Patrick and his co-novices received the M.Afr habit and rosary in the noviciate in Zambia. From 11th to 14th I took part in the Xaveri Camp in Rustenburg: 85 youths and adults were present. Nice occasion to introduce them to a possible vocation as missionary priest, brother and sister!
Fr. Jean-Pierre Le Scour, M.Afr who works to combat human trafficking in the Mozambique-South Africa border had a serious heart operation and is now resting here. Your prayers for him, please.
Christmas is still here. May it last the whole year: “It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you… yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother and offer him your hand.” (Mother Teresa)
Fr. Michael Meunier, M.Afr
Dear confreres. It’s with regret that I announce to you the death of my uncle, Mr Thaddeus Chileshe. He is the elder brother of my father. He died yesterday in Ndola where he stays. The funeral is in Mushili, Ndola near the UCZ church. Asking for your prayers. Yours, Robert Chipumbu, M.Afr
Aujourd’hui, les Missionnaires d’Afrique de l’Ouest vous proposent de visiter de nouvelles pages sur leur site www.mafrwestafrica.net :
Tout d’abord, ils vous souhaitent de belles fêtes de Noël et de fin d’année, et une bonne année 2016. Par ailleurs, ils vous communiquent comme d’habitude quelques informations :
Dans la rubrique « Actualités » :
« 8 décembre au Niger » cette date était pour les confrères vivant la mission dans ce pays pour se retrouver, et vivre des moments intenses de fraternité. (lire la suite)
« Assemblée précapitulaire d’Europe » cette assemblée de préparation au chapitre de mai-juin 2016 s’est tenue à Bruxelles du 23 novembre au 3 décembre 2015. (lire la suite)
Dans la rubrique « Témoignages » :
« Lettre de Noël de Nouakchott » ce texte rédigé et envoyé par notre confrère Mgr Martin Happe, qui est évêque de Nouakchott depuis vingt ans. (lire la suite)
« La paroisse N.D. d’Afrique de Talo au Togo ». Des nouvelles de la communauté de Missionnaires d’Afrique qui est engagée dans cette paroisse. (lire la suite)
« Ouverture de la porte de la miséricorde à Zinder », un deuxième texte de la communauté de Zinder dans l’est du Niger. (lire la suite)
Dans la rubrique « Dialogue interreligieux » :
« Comprendre et dialoguer » : encore une fois notre merci aux Missionnaires d’Afrique de l’ARCRE qui nous invitent à nous informer et réfléchir. (lire la suite)
« Islam et christianisme » trois articles pris sur le site de l’ARCRE et qui éclairent sur les possibilités de rapprochement, et ce qui se fait déjà dans ce domaine. (lire la suite)
Dans la rubrique « Justice et Paix » :
« Message du Pape François, 1er janvier 2016 » cette date est la 59ème journée mondiale de la paix. (lire la suite)
Dans la rubrique « Vu au sud, vu du sud » :
« Mandat contre Blaise Compaoré » des informations prises sur les sites de Radio France Internationale et du journal Libération, à ce propos. (lire la suite)
Today, the 21st December 2015, we celebrated Mass in our community around our confrere Fr Norbert Nkingwa who lost his maternal uncle, Mr Barnabas Kiyuga, on Thursday. His funeral Mass and burial is taking place in his home village in Mwanza, Tanzania.
We pray for the peaceful repose of his soul.
Message sent by Camille Konkobo, M.Afr
Between 1953 and 1990, Father Normand Papineau went to Ilondola to learn Chibemba and subsequently moved from Kantensha Seminary to Kayambi, Chalabesa, Chilonga, Lubushi as Rector to the Seminary, Mpika as Rector of the Major Seminary, Mpika as Parish Priest and Superior, Mulilansolo as Parish Priest and Mulanga as Curate. He retired in Canada in 1993.
Father Papineau died on December 18, 2015, in Montreal (Canada), at the age of 90 years of which 64 of missionary life in Zambia and Canada.
Let us pray for the repose of his soul.
Please find a report from OXFAM on the growing and worrying inequality in Malawi. This was published in November and give a very good picture of the divide between the rich and poor. Bill Turnbull, M.Afr
rr-inequality-in-malawi-261115-en
By Oxfam in Malawi’s Country Director, John Makina
Economic inequality has worsened significantly in Malawi in recent years. In 2004, the richest 10 percent of Malawians consumed 22 times more than the poorest 10 percent. By 2011 this had risen to see the richest 10 percent spending 34 times more than the poorest. Yet even this shocking statistic is likely to be a significant underestimate1. Anyone who has seen the many large mansions springing up on the edges of Lilongwe and Blantyre, and the plethora of new shopping malls being opened, knows that conspicuous consumption amongst the richest is dramatically growing. Malawi’s Gini coefficient, the key measure of inequality, also shows the extent to which robust economic growth is benefiting the rich whilst leaving the poor behind. In seven years of impressive growth, the Gini has leapt up from 0.39, on a par with Cameroon, to 0.45, on a par with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This study modelled the link between inequality, growth and poverty in Malawi over the next five years. In 2015, 8 million people – 50 percent of the country’s population – live in poverty. Yet if inequality continues to rise as it has in recent years, by 2020 1.5 million more Malawians will be poor3. Even if inequality stays broadly at the level it is now, there will still be 400,000 additional people living in poverty in Malawi by 20204. Unless Malawi acts now to reduce inequality, even rapid economic growth will fail to reduce poverty in the country.
Conclusion
Inequality is not an accident, nor is it inevitable; it originates from policy choices. Consequently, some policy choices can worsen inequality while others reduce it. As is aptly pointed out by UNRISD, ‘Without deliberate policy interventions, high levels of inequality tend to be self-perpetuating. They lead to the development of political and economic institutions that work to maintain the political, economic and social privileges of the elite.
This study has identified a number of factors driving inequality in Malawi, and made clear that poverty reduction in Malawi will be faster if inequality decreases. But reducing inequality will not be a benign by-product of growth under trickle down assumptions. It will only happen as a result of deliberate joint policy efforts, which all Malawi’s government and civil society must unify behind.
By Romaric Bationo, M.Afr
From 6th to 9th November 2015, the 3rd annual meeting of the Network Pastoral Africa, organised and sponsored by Missio Aachen, took place at the AMECEA Pastoral Institute Gaba, in Eldoret, Kenya. The two previous meetings were held at Lumko, South Africa in 2013 and at the Centre for Social Concern and the Kungoni Centre of Culture and Art in Malawi in 2014.
At this 3rd meeting, six Pastoral Institutes from different corners of Africa were represented: the Capuchin Franciscan Research and Training Centre of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Lux Terra Leadership Foundation of Abuja, Nigeria; Tamale Institute of Cross-Cultural Studies, Ghana; Centro de Formacao de Nazare of Beira, Mozambique, Lumen Christi Institute of Arusha, Tanzania; and Faith and Encounter Centre, Zambia. Other delegates came from: the AMECEA Pastoral Institute, Gaba; the Pastoral Department of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, CUEA, the Pastoral Department of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference; the Commission for Pastoral and Lay Apostolate of Kenya; and from Missio Aachen. The big absents were the Centre for Social Concern, Kungoni Centre of Culture and Art, Malawi and Wadzanai Training Centre of Harare, Zimbabwe.
For the first time FENZA participated in this meeting and I was privileged to represent it.
This year, the discussions and presentations at the meeting revolved around the core theme of the pastoral challenges and implications of Evangelii Gaudium. The three main presentations were: Evangelii Gaudium and Interreligious Dialogue in Africa, by Rev Prof. Fredrick Mvumbi; Pastoral Challenges in Kenya in Relation to Evangelii Gaudium, by Prof. Eunice Kamaara; and Evangelii Gaudium in Relation to the Church as Family of God in Africa, by Rev Dr. Jordan Nyenyembe. Then the participating pastoral institutes, FENZA included, were given the opportunity to give each a presentation on the impetus the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium has had so far on their respective work.
Besides knowing, sharing and learning from one another, the most important point of this 3rd meeting of Network Pastoral Africa, was the setup of a concrete networking among the various Pastoral Institutes. Under the facilitation of Fr. Pikiti Febian Mulenga from the AMECEA Pastoral Department, the Pastoral Institutes reached and agreed on a networking action plan that should promote and advance co-operation among them.
At the end of the meeting, the delegates decided that the next Network Pastoral Africa meeting will take place from 3rd till the 6th February 2017 in Arusha, Tanzania.
Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén
