The Church playing a part in DRR work is most effective and sustainable

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A PADR facilitator (first right) is explaining a ploughing method

Stanley Enock Hanya is the Coordinator of Church and Community Mobilisation projects at Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), which is one of the biggest evangelical alliances in Zimbabwe. He hopes to equip faith leaders in churches to teach their congregation to facilitate community development based on biblical principles.

 

Written by: Stanley Enock Hanya (Church and Community Mobilisation Coordinator, EFZ)

 

The EFZ embarked on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) after calls for relief from previous project communities that had been affected by 2015/2016 El Niño induced drought. Realising that disaster response was not sustainable, the organisation began to intently look at the word of God for inspiration on issues of disaster prevention. It was after some soul-searching effort that we were able to adopt the Participatory Assessment of Disaster Risk (PADR) as a tool to guide the implementation of DRR initiatives in communities.

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The Answer to Disaster

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[“SHARE” JUL – SEP 2018 ] FOCUS ~ Disaster Management

Written by: Jady Sit

 

Every time there is a disaster, we feel sad and anxious for the suffering victims. While some people would pray for them, others would donate generously or organise a fundraising campaign, and some people would form a volunteer team to serve the devastated survivors through humanitarian work or counselling support. Although we try to give what we can, in the face of a natural disaster, we still feel helpless and powerless, because what could we do to stop tragedies that are not of our control?

 

In 2015, the massive earthquake in Nepal brought irreversible destructions: close to 9,000 casualties, 3.5 million people lost their homes, and Kathmandu Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was severely damaged. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the overall damage of the quake was about US$10 billion (about half of the country’s GDP). So, is it true that we cannot prevent a disaster from happening?

 

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Why is Reconciliation Important?

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Whenever we talk about reconciliation, we always think of our good partner in Zimbabwe, Foundations for Farming (FfF). We are honoured to have Brian, their founder, to share with us the power of reconciliation and forgiveness through his journey on founding FfF.

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Will You Make Things Right?

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[“SHARE” APR – JUN 2018 ] FOCUS ~ Reconciliation

Written by: Jady Sit

“Where are you?”

“I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

“Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

“The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

The above scene (Genesis 3:9-12), well-known by every Christian, documents the event when men and God’s relationship went from perfect intimacy to complete distant. As Adam accused “the woman you put here with me”, relationship among humans had also become distorted. Then, men and land were cursed. Sin made the world a broken world plagued with poverty, warfare, and exploitation of resources.

Often, we describe CEDAR as a development organisation, but we believe what we actually do is the ministry of reconciliation. Through the work of CEDAR and overseas partners, we hope to urge men to reconcile with God, others, the land, and with themselves; then, we would be able to break the chain of poverty.

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You Were Born to Be Loved

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The relationship between Mary and Jesus is a perfect manifestation of the love between God and men. From Mary’s song, we saw her humble heart before the Father, and out of her humbleness and love for God, she brought up Jesus with love and care. The same love and humble heart are also illustrated in the work of FACT today.

Nomatter, a Zimbabwean girl who was born in a family affected by HIV, described in her letter that the support from CEDAR was like a miraculous motherly love.

CEDAR’s partner in Zimbabwe, FACT (Family AIDS Caring Trust), is serving over 90 children orphaned by HIV in three impoverished communities, providing education sponsorship and psycho-social support, as well as organising Kids Clubs and youth camps for peers support. Nomatter shared, “CEDAR has provided us the best support every child needs. You supported me when I couldn’t support myself. You gave me hope when the future was all bleak and I was in the middle of nowhere.”

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