wfn.org | Match aid with advocacy, Dandala tells CWS Africa Forum

[George Conklin <gconklin@igc.org>]

Match aid with advocacy,  Dandala tells CWS Africa Forum

NAIROBI, KENYA--Dec. 17, 2008--  Churchesâ?? on-the-ground assistance
in Africa needs to be matched with equal energy for advocacy that
challenges the structures responsible for the problems in Africa.

That was the word from the Rev. Dr. Mvume Dandala, general secretary of
the All Africa Conference of Churches, to the 10 members of the Church
World Service Africa Forum who participated in the AACCâ??s 9th  General
Assembly Dec. 7-12 in Maputo, Mozambique.

Africans are â??giving it their all,â?? Dandala said, but  because of
structures that rob them of the fruit of their labors - for example,
their countriesâ?? massive external debt and unfair trade agreements -
their energy investment is giving them nothing back.

The CWS Africa Forum includes the Africa secretaries of CWS member
communions, Canadian ecumenical colleagues, and representatives of
Africa-related organizations as defined and invited by the forum, said
Christoph Schneider-Yattara of CWS, who staffs the forum.

The AACC, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, is an ecumenical fellowship
whose member churches and organizations include more than 120 million
Christians in 40 countries, making it Africaâ??s most comprehensive
ecumenical body.  It meets every five years in continent-wide assembly.

Forum members used the occasion of the Maputo assembly for their own
half-day meeting, at which they were joined by staff of the Maputo-based
CWS Southern Africa Regional Office and several African partners,
including Dandala.

â??One of the concerns that I believe the global church community  needs
to address is the question, â??What causes poverty?â??â??  he told the
group, urging the global ecumenical community to a â??ministry of
empowering people for self-reliance.â??

Dandala recalled that the missionary movements of old didnâ??t have
many resources and â??werenâ??t strong at providing emergency
assistance, but very good at providing community transforming
institutionsâ?? - especially schools.

Caroline Njuki of the United Methodist Church General Board of Global
Ministries chairs the CWS Africa Forum.  The forum plans to hold its
spring meeting in the United States, and has invited the AACCâ??s
incoming General Secretary the Rev. Dr. André Karamaga to be present.
Karamaga takes office in January.

The forumâ??s purpose is to provide a common table for the exchange of
information and concerns, to build ecumenical networks that further the
membersâ?? work, and to explore collaborative solutions through joint
efforts and advocacy related to the Africa region.

Some 1,000 people attended the AACCâ??s Maputo assembly, at which
delegates transacted official business - enacting a â??Maputo
Covenantâ?? and resolutions on the crises in Zimbabwe and the
Democratic Republic of Congo, to name just a few of their actions.

Other participants worked in nine sub-theme â??tracksâ?? on  topics
ranging from the environment to economic liberation, and from health to
human rights.  For more information, visit the assembly weblog at
http://aaccassembly08.wordpress.com

Media Contacts

Lesley Crosson, (212) 870-2676, media@churchworldservice.org
Jan Dragin - 24/7 - (781) 925-1526, jdragin@gis.net