wfn.org | All Africa News Agency March 24 2003 (a)

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

AANA BULLETIN No. 11/03, March 24, 2003 (a)

ALL AFRICA NEWS AGENCY
P. O Box, 66878, 00800 Westlands, NAIROBI, Kenya.  Tel: 254-2-4442215,
4440224
Fax: 254-2-4445847, 4443241; Email: aanaapta@insightkenya.com , 
aanaapta@hotmail.com

NEWS  SECTION

Churches, Agencies Team Up To Help Starving Families

LUSAKA (AANA) March 24 - The Christian Council of Zambia (CCZ) has embarked 
on a programme to assist an estimated 1,500 families severely affected by 
starvation, following heavy rains in the country.

The General Secretary of CCZ, Rev Japheth Ndhlovu told AANA in an interview 
in Nairobi on March 17, that while the country had recently faced famine 
due to drought, the situation was now brought about by too much rain.

The Zambian clergyman was in the Kenyan capital to attend a consultation on 
Mission and Vision of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), which 
took place between March 13-15 (see related story on page 4 ).

  "While we have in recent times faced the same problem due to drought, we 
are now being faced with the same problem due to too much rain," he said.

He disclosed the problem was being brought about by the fact that the heavy 
rains were being accompanied by cyclones, which weather experts in the 
country have dubbed "Japheth".

"The most affected areas are those in the southern Province, close to 
Zambia/Mozambique border, Eastern Province and Lusaka Rural," explained Rev 
Ndhlovu.

He added that a recent appeal by churches through Geneva-based Action by 
Churches Together (ACT) International, had yielded positive reaction.  "We 
now have enough food to cater for our feeding needs," he said.

ACT is the overall co-ordinator, while	CCZ, the World Food Programme 
(WFP), Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Youth International Movement 
YIM), as well as Zambian Government, are making their contributions on the 
issue.

Rev Ndhlovu revealed to AANA that on average, they were feeding about 1,500 
families, each with about five members.

He expressed fear that unless the current rains subsided, crops already in 
farms, could perish, meaning all the efforts "we had earlier on put in 
areas of helping the famine-stricken people with seeds, will go into waste."

Some areas where the victims are settled have become impassable due to 
damaged roads.	Some bridges have been washed away.

"In some cases, we have food but we cannot reach the needy. This is rather 
unfortunate," complained the Zambian clergyman.

In normal circumstances, Zambian farmers would now be nearing harvesting 
time, but chances are that most of the yields will go to waste unless the 
current heavy rains subside.

Reported By Osman Njuguna

Carefree Nurse Frustrates Health Delivery System

MAUN, Botswana (AANA) March 24 - Botswana health officials have been 
testing 170 primary school children for HIV, after a nurse on February 20, 
threw the country's health delivery system into despair, by using the same 
syringe to immunise the children against childhood diseases.

The pupils are from Estha 6 Primary School, a village school 230 kilometres 
north of  Maun town in north-western Botswana.	Fifty-four of them are in 
Standard one, while the remaining116 are Standard seven pupils.

Blood samples have been sent to forensic laboratories in the health 
department in the capital, Gaborone, to find out whether the children have 
been infected with HIV.

In a joint statement on March 5, Mathias Chakalisa and Eric Malole, 
permanent secretaries for health and local government ministries 
respectively, said that the male nurse (whose identity has been withheld) 
apparently refused to listen to school teachers who had asked him to stop 
the practice.

The statement did not, however, say what action was going to be taken 
against him.

"The needle used was not even sterilised before re-use, a principle that is 
normally applied in those areas where there is a shortage of needles. We 
must emphasise that re-using needles is against our national health 
policy," said part of the statement.

It took more than five days before health officials became aware of what 
had transpired.

"It was already too late to provide prophylaxis," they said, adding, "The 
matter has been discussed with the parents and they have given their 
consent for HIV testing." Government experts are also counselling parents 
and the children involved.

Health regulations call for the use of one needle per person when 
injections are carried out, in order to minimise the risk of infection. 
This has been government policy for several years since the advent of HIV 
in the country.

Michael Badisa, Principal Education Officer in Maun, said 1,150 children 
attended Estha 6 Primary.  "One of the problems now is that it is known 
that Standard Seven pupils are sexually active. This could be a problem for 
the future," he said.

Botswana currently is one of the countries in southern Africa with the 
highest incidence of HIV/AIDS infection.

Latest statistics from UNAIDS indicates that 39 percent of the population's 
16 to 49 age group are HIV positive.

Reported by Rodrick Mukumbira

AACC Makes A Breakthrough In Search For New Structure

NAIROBI (AANA) March 24 - Leading personalities in the ecumenical movement 
and the African church leadership have given the All Africa Conference of 
Churches (AACC) a quantum leap in the search for a new Vision and Mission.

Following three days (March 13-15) of earnest brainstorming and deep 
soul-searching, church leaders, representatives of ecumenical partners and 
leaders of the African ecumenical institutions achieved their goal - the 
production of draft Vision and Mission statements, Core Values and a 
proposal for a new structure for AACC.

The consultative meeting was chaired by Chief Dr Samuel Adekunle, who is 
the chairman of the AACC Joint Working Group on Vision and Mission (JWG).,

The group brings together members of the AACC Executive Committee and 
Executive staff.  The meeting was facilitated by Dr Agnes Abuom, President 
for Africa World Council of Churches (WCC).

The draft Vision and Mission statements, together with the proposed values 
and structure, will be circulated to AACC members for comments.

They will also be tabled before the organisation's General Committee due to 
meet in Nairobi in early May, before being referred back to member churches 
for further input.

The drafts will then be submitted to the AACC General Assembly in November, 
in Yaounde, Cameroon, for ratification and adoption.

Details about the drafts are available from AACC Information Desk (Tel 
254-2-4441338/9, or email: infodesk@aacc-ceta.org)

Reported by Mitch Odero
AACC Information And Communications Desk

Strange Mutation: Fortune Seekers End Up As Vultures

ACCRA (AANA) March 24 - Inordinate ambition of two traders in Ghana to get 
fabulously rich through spiritual means ended up in disaster as the fortune 
hunters got permanently transformed into vultures, it is alleged here.

A third accomplice in the get-rich-quick ordeal, who was lucky to have 
escaped the predicament of the two victims, uncovered this bizarre incident.

In the aftermath of the spiritual activities, the two alleged human 
vultures are seen daily either hovering together or perching on the roof of 
a market shed during normal business hours, where as humans, they traded in 
vehicle spare parts.  The market is at Abossey Okai, a suburb in Accra.

The worried accomplice, who chose to remain anonymous, could not help but 
spill the beans to friends eventually.

According to the story, the three decided on a mission of acquiring 
supernatural powers to enhance their trading business.

They subsequently travelled to the Republic of Benin, near Togo, late last 
year to consult a man who dabbled in "African juju" (black magic).

The jujuman promptly agreed to assist the three achieve their objectives. 
He immediately initiated a spiritual process, which transformed all three 
into vultures.

They were locked up in a room of the jujuman's shrine for two days, being 
released only occasionally to feed on nearby rubbish dump.

Spiritual operations reached an advanced stage on the third day, when the 
jujuman began to retransform the three clients into human form, but just 
after one of them regained his normal appearance, the ritual material in 
use run short.

On his way to procure fresh materials, as fate had it, he was knocked down 
by a vehicle and died instantly.

In the circumstance of a failed mission, the lucky one, who had regained 
his normal structure had no option other than returning quietly to Accra.

On his return journey however, he noticed to his amazement, that his two 
friend vultures flew all along after the vehicle he boarded from Benin to 
Accra.

According to people in the area, the survivor has since disappeared from 
the market after the revelation.

And interestingly, no relatives have so far made any effort to look for the 
victims. People concluded that perhaps, this was due to the fact that their 
identities in the saga had not been revealed yet.

Meanwhile, Afrikania Mission Church in Accra, which applies African 
traditional way of worship, has offered to transform the two vultures back 
to human form.

Leaders of the Church, Osofo Komfo and Kofi Ameve, said in Accra that they 
could indeed help the poor victims if the vultures could be trapped and 
brought to the Church's headquarters in Accra.

Reported by Felix Amanfu