wfn.org | UMNS# 04575-Congo bishop works to solidify peace

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Congo bishop works to solidify peace 

Dec. 7, 2004	 News media contact:   Linda  Bloom * (646) 3693759*  New
York {04575}

NOTE: A head-and-shoulders photo of Bishop Nkulu Ntanda Ntambo is available
at http://umns.umc.org.

By Linda Beher*

NEW YORK (UMNS)--United Methodists in the Democratic Republic of Congo
believe food security is a key to peace.

In the weeks since Bishop Nkulu Ntanda Ntambo moderated a September peace
accord in North Katanga, they are emphasizing an agriculture ministry in the
southeastern part of their nation, with the bishop in the lead. 

What United Methodists in the Katanga Conference do and say matters, Ntambo
told staff of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries and United
Methodist Committee on Relief during a late November visit to New York. There
are a million official United Methodists in the DRC, with another four
million in worship.

Ntambo's first term as head of Africa's then newest United Methodist
conference occurred as a brutal civil war began in 1996. During that same
period, cholera killed thousands. In the midst of the horrors of war and
disease, the bishop brought hope to the North Katanga region.
 
Partnering with UMCOR, he brought new agricultural products into the area.
Last September, after nearly eight years of war, he helped to broker a peace
settlement for North Katanga at a conference attended by 250 fighters who
committed not to fight again. 

"The church bought the peace," said Ntambo, who moderated the peace
conference, which was funded by United Methodist donations, including an
UMCOR grant.

Now the bishop is planning for a future where the church can assist with
clean water, housing, nutritious food, solid education, and decent
livelihoods to strengthen North Katanga and his headquarters community of
Kamina, in the south Congo.

When war erupted there, the conflict raged in 30 of the bishop's 32
districts. With widespread destruction of homes and hospitals, the war left
children without parents and people without limbs. Armed groups destroyed
crops and burned whole villages to the ground. The lack of clean water and
food allowed cholera bacteria to flourish, killing with dehydration and
shock.

Press reports from the war years highlight bitter violence. Massacres, rapes,
and execution style killings were commonplace. The DRC conflict was
particularly marked by the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war. 

The bishop's leadership in the peace process affirmed the trust placed in the
church by the former fighters. During the war years, Ntambo kept hope alive
through his partnership with UMCOR.

A sustainable agriculture and development program introduced Chinese cabbage
cultivation. Because it is more affordable than other foods, the cabbage is
both a source of nutrition and of income through sales at regional markets.
"So United Methodists became the source of hope for many," Ntambo said,
adding that the common name of the cabbage today is "Thank You Methodists."

The cabbage experiment led to other sustainable crops. The moringa tree's
uses include food as well as medicine. "To buy aspirin one had to walk 50
miles," explained the bishop. On an income of less than $100 a year, such a
medicine was difficult to obtain. Now many families in Kamina -- Muslim,
Catholic, Pentecostal, United Methodist and
others - have planted moringa trees and can make a pain reliever similar to
aspirin from their foliage. Through UMCOR's sustainable agriculture program,
small eggplants, known as "garden eggs," chickens, and cattle provide
additional food security.

Ntambo considers these activities as ways the church is helping to sustain
the peace in North Katanga. He believes the peace treaty enabled people to
transform the energy of fighting into the energy of building a country. The
bishop envisions a university for Kamina, and has already dedicated an
interfaith chapel there.

"In Kamina there are different tribes, different religions and different
cultures," he said. "Through the programs of the United Methodist Church and
UMCOR in Kamina, the city is united."
	
Donations to UMCOR Advance #982188, Sustainable Agriculture and Development,
can continue to assist programs like those in the Democratic Republic of
Congo. Gifts to UMCOR Advance #982920, World Hunger/Poverty, assist the
millions of people who suffer from chronic malnutrition and hunger. 

Checks can be placed in church offering plates or mailed directly to UMCOR at
475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Credit card donations can be
made by calling (800) 554-8583.

# # #

*Linda Beher is executive secretary for communications for the United
Methodist Committee on Relief.

News media contact: Linda Bloom7(646)369-37597New York7 E-mail:
newsdesk@umcom.org.

	

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United Methodist News Service