Sego sa Meetse Sego sa MeetseIssue 1 • September 2008 The Living Waters of HOPE A newsletter of HOPE Africa – The Social Development Programme of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa I thirst no more... SEGO SA MEETSE ‘Sego sa Meetse’ The charge of Faith in Action Welcome to the first edition of Sego sa Meetse – the official newsletter of HOPE AFRICA. In his Charge to the Anglican Community gathered for his installation the Archbishop of Cape Town used Sego sa INSIDE Meetse as a theme to send the message of service to the community. He said “I chose the Sepedi phrase “sego sa meetse” as my theme. Simply put, sego is a vessel and meetse is water. Yet the two also have deeper meaning, just as living water, the Holy Spirit, does in John’s gospel. Sego sa Meetse not only provides drink for the thirsty; it also transforms various ingredients into sustaining nourishment; and H.O.P.E having done so, it provides thlabego, the yeast, which catalyses the next meal to come.” The Archbishop continued: “In today’s gospel passage, dramatised so powerfully, we heard how the disciples were sent to be channels of peace, channels of the breath – the Spirit – of God and of his forgiveness. Christ said to them “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” In the same way, we, the baptized, the new body of Christ, are called through the Spirit of God to be 2 channels or vessels, sego, of that same peace and forgiveness which we have received.” This newsletter intends to live up to the Archbishop’s Charge and be the channel of Hope Africa’s work to the community. We intend to provide the yeast and catalyst of debates about the how the Church should impact on the lives of the people of God in Society. We intend to translate the ingredients of Health Opportunity Partnerships and Employment into living faith by informing our faith community of the actions that others take all over the world to turn our faith into action. Sego sa Meetse was therefore an appropriate name as we shall use this platform to support the Ministry of the Archbishop – our patron. In future editions we will examine the work of various parishes and diocese in living up to the Archbishop’s charge to be a light in our society. In this edition we publish the highlights of this Charge to HIGHLIGHTS 4 lay a foundation of how we will view the interventions of various parts of our church as we respond to this charge and support the ministry led by our patron and archbishop. We hope to make this as an interactive a platform as possible to enable an exchange of ideas as well as showcase the work of God’s Church in Society. Delene Mark SEGO SA MEETSE NETS FOR LIFE 3 CEO, HOPE Africa 1 HIGHLIGHTS from The Archbishop’s Charge H.O.P.E Don’t be Afraid to be Sego sa Meetse There is so much more I could say about the vision I believe God is setting before us. It is a vision we must seek through rootedness in Christ Jesus, and ever-deepening engagement with Scripture and Sacraments; through the discipline of daily prayer and Bible-reading. It is a vision that will touch every area of our lives. Let me share where it is already touching mine: It is a vision of the restoration of dignity of each person, created by God and precious in God’s sight. It is a vision of growing parish youth ministries, strengthened ecumenical ministry in tertiary education and Anglican schools helping address the skills shortages of our communities. AN OVERVIEW It is flourishing theological education, including through our residential college in Grahamstown and the Anglican House of HOPE Africa, a section 21 company [NPO], is the social development outreach programme of Studies in Pietermaritzburg. the Anglican Church. The organisation was developed from a church led voluntary association It is confident, competent, well-remunerated clergy, within the Diocese of Cape Town [The Board of Social Responsibilities] that had existed for energising all God’s people in mission. over 40 years. The vision of HOPE Africa is ‘Building the capacity of the Anglican Church It is parishes as centres of peace and safety, offering shelter of Southern Africa by facilitating effective development work through partnerships.’ The and nurture the vulnerable, especially children and youth: mission of the organisation is to create and/or strengthen social development programmes whether parishes in Cape Town, across South Africa, in Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Swaziland, or in aimed at poverty alleviation in communities around Anglican Diocese in six Southern Africa St Helena and Tristan da Cunha. countries, namely, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Mozambique and Angola. It is churches working in partnership with governments and civil society to breathe hope and transformation into every As a Church based organisation, HOPE Africa is actively involved in the development of a aspect of our communities and common life. theological rationale that underpins the work of social transformation. It is an Africa without conflict, and without the unjust structures that fuel injustice; an Africa where the Anglican Church of Southern Africa plays its full role within the Council HOPE Africa strives to work in partnership with government, business and other civil society of Anglican Provinces in Africa, the All Africa Conference of organisations. Our programme areas include Capacity Building, Leadership, Partnerships Churches and religious leaders’ forums, while conscious of the world wide Communion’s need for unity. and Knowledge and Information Sharing. It is a global community of justice and generosity, of economic fairness and special care for the poorest, that urgently tackles unsustainable growth in demand for oil, energy and other resources. It is a world prepared to hear the words “Peace be with you.” HOPE Africa’s work is focused on Socio- People of God, dare to share this vision with me. Take the risk CA P ACI T Y of answering Jesus’ invitation to be called, and to be sent. Economic Transformation through four BUI L DING Don’t be afraid to be sego sa meetse. He who calls us will strategic focal areas, namely: Leadership, strengthen and empower us to fulfil the tasks to which he calls us. Capacity Building, Partnerships and SOCIO -ECONOMIC Knowledge Information Sharing Let us pray: May the God of Peace make you complete in TRAN S FORMA T ION everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen LE AD E R S HI P PAR T N E R S HI ps 2 MOZAMBIQUE NETS FOR LIFE UPDATE The Diocese of Lebombo Diocese takes development initiative The Diocese of Lebombo has taken great strides towards empowering the Anglican Church in the development arena. A consultative process initiated by Bishop Dinis Sengulane in partnership with HOPE Africa and Episcopal Relief and Development [ER-D], has recently taken place where archdeaconries within this Diocese have had the opportunity to participate in key development discussions. The consultations provided the opportunity to discuss the scaling-up of development work in the Diocese of Lebombo, and were arranged to respond to the ongoing requests for additional You’re saving lives in support from the local communities currently being reached by the Nets for Life mosquito net distribution programme being implemented in these communities. The cry has been for Mozambique... an agricultural programme within the region and a development officer who could coordinate this effort. Between August 2007 and May 2008 fieldworkers in the Diocese of Lebombo in The three consultations were held in Maciene, Pungué and Maputo, and HOPE Africa and Mozambique have distributed another 33 000 ER-D participated in this process. The process achieved the following outcomes: Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets – thanks to the kindness of donors around the world. • Creating an initial account of the social development work being implemented by Parishes. • The creation of a list of priority areas of need in communities. But the need – and the prevalence of • An understanding of what kinds of activities the Parishes were keen to be involved in. deadly malaria – continues to grow in the • An assessment of the current capacity available to implement this programme. diocese, and this year we’re hoping to hand • Broad communication to the diocese about the intended integrated social development out another 33 000 nets. strategy for the diocese. • Creation of the terms of reference for a Social Development coordinator for the diocese. At the centre of the nets distribution programme are community training and Implementation will continue in August, after Bishop Sengulane returns from Lambeth. These mobilisation. These two pillars guarantee the developments follow the successful implementation of the Nets for Life programme over the success of the programme – by ensuring that local villagers make changes to their lifestyle, past two years. to avoid contracting the killer disease. These programmes also ensure that the nets are used correctly. Thanks to our donors, fieldworkers have been able to cover five archdeaconries in the diocese, reaching 21 534 people (5 346 men and 14 807 women) in 11 communities. Fieldworkers conduct weekly door-to-door visits, community gatherings and provide villagers with edutainment – entertainment VOLUNTEERS as a form of community education using demonstrating how to use local youth to perform dance or drama with a a Long Lasting Insecticide malaria prevention message. Treated net 3 AWARDS What’s it about? JOINT WINNER HOPE Africa invited parishes across the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA) Name of the Project: Tsogo Project to compete for the prize of R50 000 between the months of October 2007 till the 29th February 2008.