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The African Church's
Response
to Disease and Poverty
Anderson M Kamwendo
(New York: October 24 -27, 2002)
THE CHURCH'S RESPONSE TO POVERTY AND DISEASES IN MALAWI
Introduction
Since its introduction in Malawi the Church has played a major
role in the socio-economic, political and development arena.
This has been possible because the missionaries identified themselves
with the oppressed and the poor. In carrying their work the
missionaries endeavored to minister to the body, soul and mind.
To this effect they established industrial missions where holistic
needs so people were met.
The Church today is responding to the needs of the sick and
the poor because of three basic reasons and these are: historical
(following the footsteps of the missionaries), responding to
the call and commissioning of Jesus Christ and on ethical grounds.
When looking at the work of the Church it is important to understand
these three reasons because they influence the type of projects
that are implemented and more so the approach, or better still
the whole reason why the Church is involved in the Social Ministry.
The Church's work and approach is unique because other service
organizations only concentrate on the physical needs of people
while the Church takes a holistic view. The Church believes
mankind shall not gain anything if he conquers the world and
loses his life after death. Further the Church understands that
the fall of mankind was the beginning of problems, hence the
need to address sin and all its consequences. The ties that
the Church has with its partners abroad influences its work
through the presence of mission co-workers, financial and material
support that it receives.
This paper attempts to expand on these reasons, explore a few
examples of the kind of interventions that the Church is implementing
and the methodology that is used. The paper will not focus on
the health work of the Church because this was will be discussed
in detail in another presentation. The paper poses a few questions
on issues that are affecting the Church and how it is working
with the communities.
Historical Reason
The Church's response to the needs of the poor can be traced
back to the work of the missionaries. Although major adjustments
have been made in the past fifty years the foundation that was
laid by the missionaries greatly influences the work of the
Church to this very day. A closer look in history, especially
the Blantyre and Livingstonia Synods, reveals the following:
Social justice
The church opposed slave trade and other evils that dehumanized
people. When the political wind started blowing across Africa
the Blantyre and Livingstonia Synods encouraged a number of
debating groups to unite and form the Nyasaland African National
Congress (Forty- five years of turmoil, Ross A.C. Ross,
pg. 55) . The African population resented the Federation of
Rhodesia and Nyasaland was instituted in 1953. The Blantyre
Synod supported this move and appealed to Christians of all
races to strive by every means in their power, to help build
understanding between races and to build a peaceful, righteous
society. The Synod also urged people in Scotland through the
Church of Scotland to remember their ties with people in Nyasaland
show solidarity with the people and reject the federation (2
K.R. Ross 1996).
Malawi become independent in 1964 and for sometime the church
was seen to be under the armpit of the government. Things changed
on March 8 1992 when the Catholic Bishops released a Pastoral
letter, Living Our Faith, which criticized the excesses and
injustice of the one-party system. The Catholics Bishops were
supported by the two Synods on June 1992, which in collaboration
with the World Alliance of Reformed Churches called late Dr.
H. K. Banda to appoint a broad based commission with the mandate
to among other things check government powers and put in place
a mechanism to empower the people ( WARC 1992:2 ).
Eight years into the current democratic dispensation, the church
has stood up again and is praying and sensitizing the community
not to accept the governments plan to amend the constitution
and allow the President to stay in office for three terms.
Education
The Livingstonia Missions opened the first school in Malawi
in 1875 at Cape Macclear and the second followed in Blantyre
in 1876, barely a few weeks after the arrival of the missionaries.
Apart from primary and secondary schools the Presbyterain church
trained and encouraged local leaders, for instance Reverend
David Kaunda, who later became a missionary in neighboring Zambia
(Forty - five years of turmoil, Ross A.C. Ross, pg. 53).
The Church also provided technical training in carpentry, building
and other crafts. The Blantyre Synod discontinued this service
in 1956 when the government Apprenticeship Training School was
opened at Soche.
The Church also provided technical training in carpentry, building
and other crafts. The Blantyre Synod discontinued this service
in 1956 when the government Apprenticeship Training School was
opened at Soche.
Agriculture
Malawi has a poor mineral resource base and the missionaries
recognized this earlier on. Today Malawi exports tea and coffee
some of whose direct descendants were planted by the missionaries
on Blantyre mission in 1878. Crops grown on the Blantyre Mission
station were watered using the countries' first irrigation system.
While pupils learned concepts of agriculture in class they also
had the opportunity to try things out in a laboratory, which
has been dubbed as the first agriculture research station in
Malawi in the booklet entitled, "Blantyre Mission with
Prayer and Praise".
Responding to the call
The book of Genesis tells us that God was happy with what he
created. On Seven occasions he said, "it was good,"
(Gen. 1: 1-31) but the fall (Gen.3: 6-7), darkened the mind
of humankind, evil and rebellion replaced holiness. This was
followed by loss of power over nature, love, harmony, freedom
from suffering and the grace of God. Jesus Christ reversed the
curse and commissioned the Church to minister to God's people
as he did himself. In John 20:21 the Bible says, "Jesus
said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father sent
me, so I send you." (NRSV) The Church knows what Jesus
Christ came to do because a summary of this work is spelt out
in the Word of God, John 10:10 and Luke 4:18-19.
By being involved in meeting the needs of the poor the Church
is responding favorably to the great commission, helping people
to see God's love and to realize that God Almighty has answers
to all mankind's problems.
Ethical Response
William Stanley writes, "we as Christians have an ethical
response; the Church should seek policy changes through advocacy
and promote alternatives that address sustainable initiatives
both in the Church and outside the Church" (Religion
and Development pg. 3). Natural and man-made disasters, poor
policies and world economic systems drive many people into destitution.
The Church has the duty to respond and render a helping hand
to those that are affected.
Interventions that are implemented by the Church
Today the Church is assisting to the needy through the following
interventions:
Child Survival (Care of orphans and other vulnerable children)
The HIV/AIDS pandemic is taking the lives of adults who are
primarily in the productive and child bearing age group (National
AIDS Control Program). One of the most troubling consequences
of the pandemic is the enormous number of children who are orphaned
and affected. The Church is using a number of approaches to
help the children, namely: typical orphanages where children
are admitted for a number of years, transitional homes, day
care centres and home-based care using the outreach components.
Through this service orphans and other vulnerable children
are provided with food (nutrition), clothing, shelter (including
building or repair of their own houses), education, skills training,
counseling and basic medical attention (growth monitoring and
treatment).
In most day care centres orphans learn together with non-orphans
in order to reduce stigma but also accord them opportunities
to learn from each other. The non-orphans pay token fees, for
instance those who are with the Projects Office of the Blantyre
Synod pay about $2 per month.
Education
In Malawi more men are literate than women, 72% and 49 % for
men and women, respectively (Malawi Demographic and Health Survey
2000). This has adverse effects on people's desire to achieve
sustainable livelihoods. Education is key to poverty alleviation
as it helps broaden one's scope and opens opportunities in life.
The Church is responding to this need by running literacy centres
where people, mostly women, learn to read, write and count using
the functional literacy and REFCLECT models. Apart from meeting
the needs of adults Churches play a vital role in the provision
of education to children both at primary and secondary levels.
Agriculture Development
Malawi has a poor mineral resource base and as a result agriculture
is the mainstay of the economy. The sector contributes 37% of
the Gross Domestic Product, employs 80% of the country's labor
force and accounts for over 90% of Malawi's foreign exchange
earnings. Most Malawians are subsistent farmers and 90% of the
people reside in rural areas (Kabambe D. The Food Insecurity
Situation for Malawi and the Measures Towards Mitigation. Background
Paper, Blantyre synod Strategic Planning Meeting, October
2002.). The Church runs agriculture programs through which villagers
are taught low input farming techniques, for instance use of
organic manure and conservation the soil by making contour ridges
using the A Frame, an A-shaped level that is made using locally
available materials.
In addition to training and extension services the programs
provide seed and livestock on loan basis to the farmers.
Provision of Safe Drinking Water
Although the government has programs that seek to provide clean
water to the communities through the sinking or boreholes, many
Malawians do not have access to the commodity. Women wake up
early and walk for miles to go and fetch water. Realizing that
safe drinking water is a major contributing factor to livelihood
security, the Church has programs that work with communities
to sink boreholes and dig shallow wells.
The community, which requests for the service, is responsible
for the provision of quarry stones and sand, molding bricks,
digging the well, building the walls inside the wall, and maintaining
the pump. They purchase spare parts using their own maintenance
fund and pay a local person in cash or kind to fix the pump.
Each zone has a trained person who fixes the pumps.
Small Enterprise Development
Malawi's socio-economic indicators are very poor and the situation
is compounded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Dalitso Kabambe argues
that poverty is the most pervasive problem in Malawi, in a country
where 65% of the population lives below the poverty line. These
people consume less than $0.34 per day (Integrated Household
Survey, 1998.). To help uplift the lives of the poor, more so
orphans, caregivers and the rural poor, the Church has micro
credit and savings programs that provide loans to beneficiaries.
The loans that attract interest, at lower than commercial bank
rates, for instance 15% for programs that are run by the Projects
Office Blantyre Synod, have enabled some participants to send
their children to school, purchase food and clothing for the
families.
People who receive loans are trained on how to manage their
business so as to maximize profit margins. Orphans and other
vulnerable members of the community are trained in carpentry
and joinery (including how to make cane furniture), tinsmith,
tailoring, baking (to run bakeries) and brick laying. The aim
of the training is equip them with skills so that they may start
their own business and to seek employment elsewhere. The graduates
are occasionally given loans (financial and material) but due
to lack of funding sometimes they go away empty handed and thus
fail to utilize skills that they gained during training.
Relief
Floods and droughts have on a number of occasions hit the Southern
Africa region. The disasters coupled with mismanagement, HIV/AIDS
and other factors like the lack of improved agriculture inputs
have made many people to be food insecure.
A combination of floods and droughts hit Malawi in the 2001/2002
farming season such that over three million people are at risk
of starving this year. During the past twelve years Malawi has
only been food self sufficient in four years ( Ministry of Agriculture
and Irrigation — appendix 1). The Church has responded
to this crisis by providing relief maize, maize flour, powdered
milk, beans, cooking oil and likhuni phala (a maize meal that
is fortified with Soya and vitamins. In situations were floods
swept away everything, including tools and houses, the Church
has distributed polythen sheets, blankets, clothes, cooking
utensils and agriculture tools such as hoes and watering cans.
Famine has very negatives effects on children, especially those
that are under five years since they become malnourish and start
wasting away quickly in times of hunger. In his report to the
Blantyre Synod Dalitso Kabambe pointed out that malnutrition
is one of the major reasons why the infant mortality rate is
high in Malawi (Kabambe D. The Food Insecurity Situation
for Malawi and the Measures Towards Mitigation. Background Paper,
Blantyre synod Strategic Planning Meeting, pg. 10). In an
effort to help the vulnerable and undernourished children the
Church provides likhuni phala and initiates wet feeding and
growth monitoring programs. A medical component is also added
to primarily assist the children.
The Church believes that relief is not sustainable on its own
and as such that relief interventions are followed by development
efforts that are aimed at building the people's capacity to
produce their own food. This has included distribution of agriculture
inputs and extension services.
Advocacy work
For over a century the Church has been working with the needy
but the living standards of the people have not risen as expected.
Some of the causes of this problem are poor policies and mismanagement
on the part of government. The Church realized that trying to
meet the needs of the poor on its own is like treating somebody
who has toothache with painkillers. There is need to find out
the cause of the toothache and treat it if the patient is to
feel better. To this affect some Churches have established advocacy
programs, for instance the Catholic Commissions for Justice
and Peace (CCJP) and Church and Society programs (Livingstonia
and Blantyre Synods). The programs work with the community to
help raise people's awareness in issues that affect them, including
the Republican Constitution (so that people may understand it
and know their rights) and their role in governance (by voting
and participation in decision making processes through the local
government). There is also a call to start working in development
through the Rights-Based approach.
They also advocate for and with the people when certain things
are not gone well by government. Knowing that rights go hand
in hand with responsibilities, the programs do sensitize the
community on the role they are supposed to play in governance
and in meeting their own needs. People are not passive players
in a democratic dispensation.
In the late 90s Churches formed the Church Development Coordination
Committee (CDCC) with the view to strengthen their work through
sharing knowledge and experiences. Knowing that there is strengthen
in unity and that advocacy work can be dangerous especially
when one is working on issues that may seem to threaten those
that in authority, the Churches decided to set up an advocacy
desk within the CDCC. The aim of the unit is to be a secretariat
that would receive issues identified by the Churches, investigate
them and pass the findings to Church leaders who would then
meet government officials or whoever may be concerned. The unit
is also charged with the duty of advocating with or on behalf
of government if there are issues that the people are supposed
to sort out. Currently the unit has organized three interdenominational
prayers aimed at seeking God's interventions on issues that
are and may affect the people, for instance the desire by the
ruling party and government to extend the Presidents term of
office.
Congregational work
The Church through the congregations and individual members
is also responding to the needs of the poor through some of
the interventions mentioned above, although at a small and irregular
scale. The major thrust of the congregation or what we may call
Church proper here, is through bringing hope and comfort. This
is done through prayers, visitations, counseling and preaching.
This ministry which is part of stewardship (focusing within
the congregation) and evangelism (external focus) is what could
be referred to as the spiritual side of the ministry. It is
intended at meeting the spiritual needs of people and helping
them look to God as the source of help.
In the statement that is found in Mathew 11: 28, Jesus Christ
is calling all those that are heavy laden to come to him and
he is assuring them that he will not judge or condemn them.
The Church uses this, and other messages to assure people that
there in hope in Jesus Christ and that he went to prepare a
place for all of us. This work is done through Sunday services,
women's, men and youth groups. Individual members take it upon
themselves, as a special ministry, to pray and assist the needy.
Although the word of God is used to comfort people it has also
been used as a tool to condemn those that are sick, especially
those that suffer from HIV/AIDS. Some preachers say that AIDS
is a curse and have used Deuteronomy 28 as the backing chapter.
This portrays the picture that all those that are HIV positive
are sinners, disregarding the fact that sexual intercourse is
not the only way through which the virus in transmitted. Some
people have been faithful all their lives only to get infected
while they are in marriage. Such teachings perpetuate stigma
and myths that surround the pandemic.
Another aspect that continues to bring controversy is the issue
of condoms. The Church is preaching that chastity before marriage
and faithfulness within marriage are the tools for HIV prevention
(AIDS A Christian Response) while the government (Malawi National
HIV/AIDS Strategic Framework 2002-2004) and other stakeholders
include the condom as the last resort, for those that cannot
abstain. At a recent HIV/AIDS seminar for Clergy and other leaders
of the Blantyre Synod, the majority of the participants stood
their ground and said that condoms will only promote promiscuity.
This is debatable because the use of a condom is a mater of
choice and those that do not want to use it they can still go
ahead and have unprotected sex even if they are not Christians.
Methodology
Most Churches have established development departments (see
appendix 2) through which they minister to the needs of people.
Initially the departments where usually run by mission co-workers
but over time Malawians have taken over leadership position.
The presence of mission co-workers is still strongly felt and
this should be encouraged as it helps cement the relationships
and also improve the quality of the ministry. Although they
are not independent units, the departments have some form of
autonomy such that they have their own conditions of service,
accounting systems and vehicle running and other policies. External
auditors who in most cases come from firms that also audit Church
books look departmental books annually.
This semi independence may seem to be a threat but it is necessary
as the staff in these departments has a different calling from
that of the Clergy and hence need better remuneration or else
the Church will become a training ground and staff may be snatched
by other Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The level of
operations and the demands from the donors/partners is intense
and there is need therefore to hire qualified and competent
staff. The other benefit is that because the books are kept
separately, funds are spent as per the budgets.
External Church partners and other Para-church organizations
like Interchurch Aid for Development Cooperation (ICCO), Christian
AID and Kindernothilfe, have traditionally funded the departments.
However, the scale of activities has expanded rapidly and this
coupled with reduced inflow of funds from some of the traditional
partners, the departments have been compelled to seek assistance
from governments, government development agencies, for instance
USAID and Department for International Development (DFID) and
United Nations agencies such as UNCEF. Although this is a solution
to immediate funding needs it posses a threat to the approach
and reasoning behind the work of the Church. For instance a
partner cautioned one of the development departments against
evangelizing while doing its work. Even issues of praying at
meetings are things that some partners question.
The departments do realize that government has the duty to
meet the needs of its citizens and that the responsibility of
improving the people's living standards lies with the central
and local governments, particularly now that the government
system has been decentralized. To this effect the departments
work closely with civil servants in all their endeavors. The
program participants are also part and parcel of all the development
process; they help by rendering voluntary services as members
of support groups, teachers at preschools, Extension Multipliers,
Functional Literacy Facilitators and committee members for various
activities.
The work that is being done by the Church is highly appreciated
by government and civil society in general. Although the departments
are part of the Church, they are still treated as NGOs due to
the quality and scale of the operations. In Malawi both government
and the Council for Non Governmental Organizations (COMGOMA)
have called upon staff from the departments to serve at various
regional and national capacities.
The Church believes that programs cannot bring about meaningful
change if the community is not involved. To this effect community
members are mobilized and trained in various areas such as leadership,
resource mobilization and management and group dynamics. The
committees that are formed work hand in hand with traditional
leaders and other stakeholders. The process helps the beneficiaries
to participate actively in their own development. This is vital
as it ensures ownership of the work and leads to sustainability
of some of the activities. (see appendix 3)
Conclusion
For over a century the Church has been carrying out a holistic
ministry. Apart from preaching the Good News, effects to been
made by the Church to ensure that there is justice and fair
play in all areas of human endeavor. At times the Church has
appeared to be dormant and collaborating with powers that be
but thankfully the body of Christ has stood and taken its rightful
role in society, by raising its prophetic voice. The journey
has not been smooth because in its effects to stand by the Word
Of God, the Church may have stepped on people's toes. This is
the whole essence of being salt and light. However, the Church
ought to examine its role and how it has performed in the past
with the view to equip itself even better. Some of the areas
that need to be looked at are the schools that belong to the
Church but are essentially run by the government. Education
standards have gone down and so has student and staff discipline.
The health infrastructure is under immense pressure and the
standards; especially in government institutions are very poor.
HIV/AIDS is probably the biggest challenge the nation is facing
at moment. The Church should harness all the resources that
it has and play a strong role in the fight against the pandemic.
For the past 50 years massive amounts of dollars have been
spent, funding development work, and different theories have
been tried in the name of assisting the needy and yet many people
are poorer today in Malawi than they were years ago. Life expectance
continues to fall and problems like HIV/AIDS, natural disasters,
corruption and economic mismanagement still pose a threat to
millions of Malawians. Like what Paul said in the letter to
the Philippians (Philippians 3:13-14) the Church should not
look back and become contented with its marvelous record. Instead
it should engage the powers that be and take a lead in advocacy
work to ensure that there is good governance and that people
of God achieve sustainable livelihoods.
When Paul was traveling to Rome the boat was rocked by a storm
and for days the people did not eat anything such that all hope
of being saved was lost. In the midst of this suffering the
word of God came to His servant Paul. He spoke, prayed and demonstrated
his faith by eating bread before them all. This encouraged the
others and they took bread and ate. (Acts 271-31) This is what
the Church should be today, a living testimony, real salt and
light. It should be practical in order to be relevant to society
today.
Questions
- Needs of the people are increasing while resources from
within the Church circles are either stagnant or diminishing.
While this is happening Church development departments are
seeking assistance from non-religious institutions. Should
Church development departments seek funding from secular institutions?
Will this comprise our Christian faith?
- Some Church procedures and policies, like reconciling after
a couple has been on separation for sometime and the fact
that the Church does not condone divorce even when it is clear
that one of the partners has been unfaithful, may encourage
the spread of HIV/AIDS. Should the Church stick to this teaching
or should it start accepting divorce under such grounds?
- The Church says that condoms may be used in families and
yet the pandemic is taking even those that are not married.
What should the Church's position be on the issue of condom
use?
Reference
National AIDS Control Program and Ministry of Health and Population.
Malawi National HIV/AIDS Strategic Framework, 2002-2004.
Kabambe D. The food Insecurity Situation For Malawi and
The Measures Towards Mitigation, October 2002.
Ross A.C. Ross. Forty- five years of turmoil, 1994,
pages 53-56, 58-60
Stanley W. Religion and Development.
www.daga.org/ds/dsp00/d13m-I-htm
/21/2002
Cornel W.du Toit. Empowerment of the Poor: Changing our
Minds on Affluence and Poverty.
www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/8409/poverty.htm
3/21/2002
Kenneth R.R. Crisis and Identity - Presbyterian Ecclesiology
in Southern Malawi.
www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/8409/poverty.htm 2/21/2002
Shaker R. Religion and Development, No, 01 1997.
www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/xpress/dex/dex9701.htm
CCAP Blantyre Synod. Blantyre Mission with Prayer and Praise.
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