Committee finishes assessing aid in Africa
Filed Under: Africa, aid, Humanitarian Aid Committee, Malawi, Zambia
After meeting with almost three-quarters of the national pastors of the Lutheran Church of Central Africa (LCCA), visiting 14 congregations in Malawi and Zambia, and talking with WELS missionaries in the region, the WELS Humanitarian Aid Committee concluded its two-week assessment of committee-funded humanitarian aid projects in Africa. Committee members were encouraged to see the impact that projects like bore holes (deep wells), literacy lessons, study centers, and home-based health care and education have had on communities.
"We wanted to find new opportunities, to see what's going well, and determine what needs to change," says Rev. David Valleskey, committee chairman. "We found that in some cases, but not all, our gifts for humanitarian aid are being used as we pray they will be used: to help 'build bridges' that facilitate a proclamation of the gospel to people. We also came to understand much better the unique needs and opportunities for humanitarian aid in Zambia and Malawi."
Valleskey says one of the needs is for more direct contact between the LCCA and the Humanitarian Aid Committee as the national church is taking on more responsibility. "Up to this time we have worked with the missionaries," says Valleskey. "In the future, the committee will be working more directly with the national church. The meetings we had with the church leaders in Zambia and Malawi will help greatly with this transition."
The group also visited local congregations in the bush and joined with them in worship and fellowship. "Many people commit long hours to reaching people in the cities, villages, and bush country with the gospel of Jesus Christ," says Staff Minister Tom Hering, a member of the committee. "Those we met looked us in the eye and offered words of thanks for all that is done to help them. May the Holy Spirit, who is working through Word and sacrament in Africa, also work in our lives as we grow in faith and as we share this good news with others."
Read more about the committee's trip, including their adventures in African bush country
