Bishop Pates Launches the New Catechism and Commissions All to Spread It
The Diocese of Karonga has to day, the 29th July, 2017, launched the newly published basic catechism book entitled; Kasambizgani Mitundu Yose. The launch was presided over by Bishop Richard Pates of the Catholic Diocese of De Moines who was accompanied by Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of Karonga Diocese
Bishop Pates has also commissioned priests, catechists and all faithful to go forth and teach it. This auspicious occasion took place at St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral of the Diocese of Karonga.
Also present at the occasion were priests from all the 9 parishes in the Diocese, communication secretaries from the Catholic Secretariat in Lilongwe, and from other 7 dioceses in Malawi, the religious; men and women, lay leaders and the Catholic faithful at large.
In his homily and speech, Bishop Pates reiterated the significance of sharing and growing the gift of faith that God has given to His people. He highlighted that catechism is the tool with which Catholic Christians can use to grow and spread the faith. In his words, Bishop Mtumbuka indicated that the catechism has been developed in way that makes it easy for readers to grasp the most essential aspects of their faith by using question and answer method of presentation.
This basic catechism has been developed by translating the English version of the catechism used in the Universal Church , into Tumbuka; the liturgical language of the Diocese of Karonga.
In order to ensure that every Christian in the diocese accesses and owns this very important book, the Diocese is selling the book at only K 1,500. This book can be found at the Diocesan bookshop at St. Mary’s Parish and in bookshops in other parishes of the Diocese.
Karonga Diocese Staffs are Attending Training on Gender Analysis and HIV and AIDS Mainstreaming.
By Vincent Bwinga
Staff members from different arms and departments of the Diocese of Karonga are from 25th to 27th July, 2017 attending a gender analysis and HIV and AIDS mainstreaming training at Bambo Zutu House in Karonga. The training is also being attended by staff members from the Diocese’s Tuntufye Radio Station.
The purpose of the training is to build capacity of staff in order for them to be able to systematically integrate (mainstream) HIV/AIDS and gender dimensions into their particular sections, programmes and projects. The training is being facilitated by Ellen Schmitt who is a gender and HIV/AIDS expert from MISEREOR.
MISEREOR is supporting a number of projects being implemented by the Diocese through the departments of Justice and Peace and Development
Bishop Richard Edmund Pates to Visit the Diocese of Karonga; Already Landed in the Country
By Rev. Fr. Joseph Moloka Sikwese
The Diocese of Karonga is waiting eagerly for the visit of Rt. Rev. Richard Edmund Pates, Bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines in the United States of America. Bishop Pates will be visiting the Diocese of Karonga from 27th July to 30th July 2017. Meanwhile, Bishop Pates, travelling with Mr Mathew Sweeney already arrived in Malawi in the afternoon of 26th July, 2017 through Kamuzu International Airp
ort where he was received by Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of Karonga Diocese among other dignitaries.
Some forty years ago, when Bishop Pates was a deacon and student in Rome, he once served at St. Mary’s Parish in Karonga. His visit is a clear testament of the cordial relationship which exists between the Diocese of Des Moines and the Diocese of Karonga. Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of the Diocese of Karonga, also visited the Diocese of Des Moines last year.
During the visit, Bishop Pates will celebrate the Eucharist with the Christians of Zambwe Outstation in Chitipa (28th July), launch the new Catechism of the Diocese of Karonga at St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral (29th July) and celebrate the Holy Eucharist at St. Mary’s Parish (30th July).
Brief Profile of Bishop Richard Edmund Pates
9th and current Bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines.
Born: February 12, 1943), Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Education: Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity
Ordination: December 20, 1968
Vocation Director of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis: 1970 – 1974
Vice-Chancellor: 1973 – 1975
Secretary of the Apostolic Delegation to the U.S.A in Washington, D.C.: 1975 – 1981
Rector of St. John Vianney Seminary: 1981-1987
Moderator for Minneapolis Deaneries Council of Catholic Women: 1990-1998
Founding Pastor of St. Ambrose of Woodbury Church: 1998 – 2001
Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis: 22 December 2000
Consecration: March 26, 2001
Appointed of Des Moines: April 10, 2008
The Justice and Peace Desk of Karonga Diocese Works with Chitipa District Council to Take Bold Step Towards Transparency and Accountability in Health Governance
By Innocent Nazombe
In a bid to enhance citizen participation and accountability in public health service delivery, Chitipa District Council seating on 20th July, 2017 adopted the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Proactive Disclosure of Information in the health sector. This momentous step towards free flow of information between health service providers and citizens in general means that Chitipa District becomes the first in Malawi to make deliberate move to promote the right to access to information which is central to good governance, meaningful participation and informed decision making. The SOPs aim at promoting access to information which is a birth right; they spell out the procedures in granting access to information; they also assign responsibilities to various public officers who are custodians of government information. Through the SOPs the Chitipa District health sector has among others committed itself to be releasing funding and expenditure reports and the status of public health service delivery on monthly basis.
Speaking on behalf of the District Commission Mr Makina delighted in having such a document to guide information flow which is fully implemented will promote trust between the Council Secretariat at the entire people of Chitipa. “There is usually a veil of secrecy surrounding the dealings of the secretariat because we are not usually sure whether or not the information we reveal will be used in good faith. Usually, calls for information from the general public were coming as a reaction to some rumours or claims about malpractices. In that regard, these calls were not usually granted as they were viewed as mere witch hunting.” He hailed the document since it would clear suspicions that people usually have.
The adoption of the SOPs means that CCJP with funding from Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa will now go ahead to reproduce them and train those who are to implement and those who are to benefit from the process on the best way of utilizing the SOPs to ensure continuous flow of information and participatory decision making processes in response to pertinent issues affecting public health service delivery. The SOPs are not merely an administrative tool but an empowering one in the sense that it would instill trust between the duty bearers and right holders/ service users due to transparency or openness in the decision making process and service delivery. To this effect, community mobilization for noble health related causes will be easy as citizens will make contributions towards things they know and decisions that have been arrived at together.
St Mary’s Karonga Girls Secondary School Shines; Sends Two Students To a National and an International Event
By Benedict R.K.Nyondo
The saying “Miracles happen to those who believe in them” is becoming true to the two girls from St Mary’s Karonga Girls’ Secondary School. The two girls: Ellen and Chikondi have been identified for the national essay competition and international conference.
Ellen Mwenechanya, aged 14 years who is in form 1 entered a national essay competition with an essay entitled: What should be done to address sexual and physical abuse of children. Ellen is one of the 20 successful contestants who were selected out of thousands of students who had entered the competition. In her essay, Ellen writes about a girl who stays with her uncle because she lost her both parents. She does a lot of work while at home and fails to concentrate in class but sleeps most of the time. The male teacher at school takes advantage of her situation. She gets pregnant and is chased by her uncle. She finally goes to child rights’ organizations after which the matter is reported to the police and the teacher gets imprisoned for violating the student’s rights.
On the other hand, Chikondi Gongolo, another form one student aged 14 has been identified to attend Baobab Summit in Accra, Ghana from 29tht to 31st August, 2017. The conference is an annual in person convening secondary school students sponsored by Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED).
The name Baobab signifies a sense of community, a place to listen, exchange ideas and learn from one another. The summit will enable the students to: have an opportunity to explore leadership concepts; understand their own personal value and beliefs; interact with guest mentors; discuss the purpose of scholars, community and what it can mean to them personally, and finally discover their unique potential to make a difference.
Twenty students from Malawi will attend the conference. The 20 students are under the CAMFED bursary national wide and were identified on merit.
CCJP Embarks on Reconstitution of Community Police Forums.
By Vincent Bwinga
The Justice and Peace Desk of Karonga Diocese from 7th July 2017 started taking steps to respond to the poor reporting system of cases from the community to the police. The poor reporting has been noted to increase a culture of silence among community members. The Desk has now embarked on an exercise to revamp available community police structures in order to enhance community security more especially to protect the rights of women and girls who are victimized in difference forms. CCJP will facilitate training in the reporting system of cases from different communities to police stations and at the same time strengthening community security.
The process will also establish active and equal partnership between the police and the community through which cases and community safety issues will jointly be determined and solution proposed and implemented. This will also recognize the interdependence and shared responsibility of police at Chisenga, Nthalire and Wenya in making every community a more peaceful.
Chiefs and officers In charge of all police stations applauded CCJP for coming up with the idea of revamping the structure because many of people who were chosen has been dormant for a long time and as such, insecurity was high in many communities.
This initiative has been done through the project know as Community Managed Women Rights Advocacy Project (CMWRA) being implemented in T/A Nthalire and Mwenewenya in Chitipa with funding from Catholic Agency for Oversea Development (CAFOD) .
The Coppel Family Concludes their Visit to Karonga Diocese; Pledges Unwavering Commitment to Supporting the Diocese
After an action packed visit since Wednesday the 12th July, 2017, the Coppel Family left the Diocese of Karonga on Sunday, the 16th of July 2017.
Mr and Mrs Coppel were accompanied by their 2 grandchildren, 2 friends and senior representatives from the Catholic Relief Services. Mr Coppel has been a close partner of the Diocese of Karonga especially through Lusubilo Orphan Care project in terms of providing funding for several projects run by the organization. The Coppel were also one of the very first people who generously contributed to the construction of the St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral. The Coppel Family also supports the Diocese of Karonga through the Caritas and Pastoral commissions.
During their visit, Mr Coppel Family had a number of meetings with staff and management of Lusubilo and Karonga Diocese Curia and visited a number of project interventions in Chitipa and Karonga districts. According to Vit
umbiko Ngwira; the Deputy Director at Lusubilo; Mr and Mrs Coppel appreciated services that Lusubilo is rendering to various vulnerable individuals and communities in the Diocese of Karonga. He also expressed his joy for the partnership that exists between the organization and his family. During one of the field visits 2 beneficiaries shared their experience on the help that they have received from Lusubilo. Also, together with His Lordship Bishop Martin Mtumbuka, Mr Coppel officially opened the warehouse at St. Michael’s Parish on the 14th of July,2017.
During the farewell dinner at Bambo Zutu House on the 15th of July, 2017 Mr Coppel expressed his thanks for the people of Karonga Diocese for warmly welcoming and hosting them in the Diocese of Karonga. He also pledged unwavering commitment to supporting the Diocese of Karonga. To demonstrate this, among others, Mr Coppel said that each time they visit the Diocese of Karonga, they make sure that they are accompanied by their children and/or grand children so that this bond continues to grow in the future. In his words, Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of the Dioce
se expressed his gratitude to the Coppel Family for the huge support render to the Diocese. According to the Bishop; ‘what the Coppel Family are doing to the Diocese call for both
a sense of gratitude to God and to the Coppel Family and a sense of responsibility’
The Coppel left Karonga Diocese in the morning of Sunday, 16th July, 2017.
From Contaminated Water to Safe Water; Lusubilo Changing Lives of Many Through Provision of Clean Water
Lusubilo touches lives of many people in various ways through its different programs. Apart from taking care of orphans and running agricultural, nutrition and education programs, Lusubilo also provides clean water to families that cannot access safe water. Each year, the organization drills about 10 boreholes to very vulnerable communities that do not have clean water.
The people of Mwanjabala, Kafilikisira, Mwawulambo and Mwahimba villages have good news to share about Lusubilo. Previously, the community used to suffer in a number of ways because they did not have safe water to drink. This resulted into outbreaks of diseases, such as cholera. Women were the mostly affected victims because they used to walk long distances to go and fetch water. The only source of water was the Lake malawi whose water is not treated.
Currently, the people of are happy because of the borehole that was provided by the Coppel family through Lusubilo. The borehole has served women from walking long distances to go and fetch water. This will also reduce diseases that come as result of drinking unclean water.
St. Mary’s Karonga Girls Secondary School in Educational Visit to Karonga Museum
BY HENDRIX NGWIRA
On Saturday 1st July, 2017 the students from St Mary Karonga Girls Secondary School had an educational visit Karonga museum. The teachers organized the trip to enable student learn in a different environment the concepts they usually study at school. The students were able to appreciate some of the concepts they learn in different disciplines such as humanities, sciences and languages.
Judging from the students reports after the trip, most students gave positive comments about the trip. The following were some of the comments by the students: “It was my first time to visit Karonga museum and I will never forget the wonderful experience I had.” Sharom Chiwaya said this after the trip. The Head girl of the school was very happy to see the Dinosaur at the museum.
Overall the educational trip to the museum was very successful and will remain a wonderful experience to the students and all the teacher who accompanied the students.
Keep St. Mary’s Clean Club Visits Chaminade Secondary School
By Benedict R.K.Nyondo- Patron
Forty-eight students of St Mary’s Karonga Girls Secondary School, who belong to a sanitation and environment club known as “Keep St Mary’s Clean Club” (KSMCC), celebrated the Republic Day marking fifty-three years of independence on 6th July, 2017 in a special way. The club, born on 6th November, 2016; advocates for zero tolerance on litter in school. It is an activity based club with an intention to train young men and women in schools to have positive attitude towards work and responsibility.
It was a bright Thursday morning with beautiful sun’s beaming reflections from the lake, when students clad in their gym-dress uniform, boarded an open lorry ready to depart for Chaminade secondary school. The unison declaration: “Our help is the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth” One of the students said the prayer and the vehicle started off. The journey was beefed up with spiritual songs which increased a lot of excitement in students. Exactly at quarter to ten, we were at Chaminade campus. The girls were warmly welcomed by their brothers who ushered them to St Joseph Hall while the executive committee for the two clubs met to adopt the proposed program which was fully packed with activities from 10.00 a.m. with a lunch break up to 3.00 o’clock in the afternoon.
Soon after the adoption of the program, the prayer was said followed by the national anthem. The two chairpersons, Aaron Sinkhala of Keep Chaminade Clean Club (KCCC) and Tiwonge Munde of Keep St Mary’s Clean Club (KSMCC) took the responsibilities as directors of the activities on that day. The two leaders followed the activities that were on the program such as sharing of experiences, success and challenges, and the way forward for the club. It was an enriching moment as the boys first took the KSMCC around the campus to appreciate what their colleagues were doing as a club. Among other things, the KCCC showed them rubbish pits, waste buckets put in strategic points to have waste thrown in them.
At the time of sharing experiences, the girls admitted that their friends were more advanced. They appreciated their achievements and promised to emulate as soon as they came back to their school. Then came time for variety shows. The boys had short plays, songs and poetry which depicted the themes of sanitation and environment. At the very end the two clubs made a summary of what they had discussed and finally mapped a way forward for the two clubs.
During the speeches, the patron for Chaminade secondary school, Mr. Clinton Mughogho thanked Mr.Reshas Kalupande Nyondo, the founder of the two clubs for coming up with the idea of involving students in their own environment. The Acting Head teacher, Mr. Edward Luhanga said that such activities would enhance healthy environment in schools and nationwide. He urged the students to continue to grow with such a positive attitude of responsibility. The activities came to an end at five minutes to three in the afternoon with a prayer followed by the national anthem. The girls were safely driven back to St Mary’s Karonga Girls’ Secondary School.