23.02.2017

Pre-Consultations Strengthened Women and Youth

Goma: February 23rd, 2017. Grace and Faith in Action! The impact of this motto was observed at the opening of the recent women and youth pre-assembly which generally takes place immediately prior to the Africa Regional Assembly of UEM in Goma. The CBCA hosting church received the delegates of the 14 African member churches with a fulminant welcome program. Three different choirs showed an impressive performance. Among them also a choir coming from the music school in Ruhija from the North-Western diocese in Tanzania, where five young musicians from four different African member churches are trained to become church musicians and supported by the UEM scholarship program. The head of the CBCA church Rev. Dr Kakule Molo made use of the presence of international guests, especially of female theologians, in order to appeal to the members of his own church as follows: „I am sure that the outcome of the UEM assembly will also be fruitful for our CBCA. It is time that also our church allows the ordination of women. Everybody who is called to serve the church should be given the possibility to do so.“ The deliberations among the female delegates dealt with the issue of women's ordination but also with the acknowledgment of the dignity of women within the Africa region in general. Mrs. Kavira Nganza, head of the women's department at CBCA moderated the meeting together with Mrs. Dr. Muke Nagaju from the UEM regional office in Dar-es-Salaam. The female church representatives also encountered and talked to women in Goma who had made and suffered from violent experiences in different ways. The Congolese businessman Joel Vwira, who founded several businesses in the past, gave an introduction of entrepreneurship to the youth delegates: „Everyone can do a business. But an entrepreneur finds a solution to a problem and tries to do a business by transforming his solution into a real business.“ David Wafo and Uli Baege from the UEM Africa department emphasized the importance that a problem solver ideally contributes to the society. For example like the theological student Revocatus Leonard from Karagwe who reported that he had founded a small catering service which offers an employment to 150 people in an economically underdeveloped region, today. „Think big but start from scratch and then try to quickly conquer the potential market.“ That's how Joel Vwira founded his own business in 2008 when he built-up his waste management firm in Goma. In the meantime his company is dealing with 40 per cent of the waste in Goma. As an exercise the young delegates founded small businesses and used networking for national potentials. Terri-Lynn Smith from South Africa and Anania Ndondole from Tanzania quickly agreed on the following: „This is an important platform given to us by UEM which allows us to meet and to exchange experiences. Actually this meeting is a first UEM entrepreneur hub! We can support each other in order to become a problem solver.“ David Wafo encouraged the young delegates to make in fact use of their own and existing resources and not to wait from support given from outside, because: „Do not forget Matthew 25, verse 14-28: God gave us different talents, not to hide but to use them.“ Uli Baege (Officer for Partnerships and Projects, UEM Africa department) Translation: Martina Pauly