Association of Catholic Teachers of St Mary’s Parish Commended for their Commitment to the Church
By Phillip H Chisi (CMA)
The Parish Priest of St Mary’s Parish Father Joseph Sikwese has commended teacher members of the Association of Catholic Teachers (ACT) under the parish for their strong commitment to the Church and cause of promoting Catholic education.
Father Joseph Sikwese, who is also the Pastoral Secretary for the Diocese of Karonga, said this at St Mary’s Parish during the conference of Association of Catholic Teachers (ACT) which took place from 3rd to 5th August, 2018.
In his remarks, the Parish Priest Father Joseph Sikwese appreciated the turnout of teachers which implies that they are devout Catholics.
“You are strongly committed to the Church and its values and fully committed, to the cause of Catholic education. You are also committed to Catholic Social Teaching and are steadfast agents through whom the catholic values and faith can be implemented in the schools where you are serving,” said Father Sikwese.
His remarks were in line with Bishop Martin Mtumbuka’s statement during the 2017 Association of Catholic Teachers’ conference. The statement stressed that teachers are role models and should use their positions to impart moral values and discipline.
St Mary’s Parish ACT is a group of Catholic primary and secondary school teachers who wish to support their parish in the teaching of catholic faith by participating in Sunday school as instructors among other aims. As an Association, working together to promote their Catholic faith, lighting the way for the future of Catholic education becomes their core priority.
In his remarks, Chairperson for St Mary’s Parish Association of Catholic Teachers Mr. Mwanguku thanked the pastoral team for making their convention possible. He promised that as teachers, they will continue carrying the flag of Catholic education and living the values it demands in their own life and profession.
The teachers shared on the successes and challenges they face in their work. They also interacted with resource persons on the following topics: Articles of Catholic faith by Fr. Joseph Sikwese; Catholic Education Policy by Mr. Remmie Kamanga, Leadership & Administration by Mr. Thomas Chauzuka Nyondo, and 2019 Malawi’s Tripartite Elections by CCJP.
Development Desk Equips Staff on Sustainable Agricultural Practices
By Gibson Ngwira
As a way of improving annual agricultural productivity and reducing cost of production for farmers to get profit from their produce in the target areas of Lupembe, Misuku, Chisenga and Mwamkumbwa EPAs, the Development Desk of the Karonga Diocese trained its staff and government agricultural extension workers in sustainable agricultural practices.
The training aimed at equipping the staff with skills on production of compost and liquid manure, use of mulching and crop rotation as techniques to improve soil fertility and cushion against dry spells.
Speaking during the opening of the training, the Caritas Secretary of The Diocese of Karonga, Mr. Mwawi Shaba urged all participants to take the training seriously so that the farmers could be assisted accordingly. Mr Mwabi Shaba said that the farmers can achieve socio-economic transformation through sustainable farming.
“Due to climatic change and loss of fertility in the soils, most smallholder farmers are performing poorly leading to low agricultural productivity regardless of the time and resources invested in the field. Farmers are getting less income from their produce due to high cost of production through constant use of fertilizers,” Said Mr. Shaba.
He further thanked facilitators from the District Agricultural Development Office (DADO) – Chitipa for accepting to train staff both from agriculture and the development desk.
The training drew participants from the Development Desk of the Diocese of Karonga and agricultural extension workers from the District Agricultural Development Offices of Karonga and Chitipa with facilitators from Chitipa DADO. The training was held at St. Kizito Conference Hall in Chitipa from 17th to 20th July, 2018.
The Development Desk of the Diocese of Karonga is implementing Integrated Rural Development Project in Lupembe EPA (Karonga), Misuku, Chisenga, and Mwamkumbwa EPAs in Chitipa District with funding from Miserior. The project started in July, 2017 targeting 2600 households.
Monsignor Denis Chitete Confirms First Adult Christians from Chakaka, Livingstonia Parish
By Benjamin Msowoya
On 4th August 2018, the Vicar General of the Diocese of Karonga, Monsignor Denis Chitete, confirmed 23 Christians of Livingstonia Parish at Chitimba Prayer Centre.
Of special interest were three adult Christians from Chakaka area, one of the recently evangelized areas in the Diocese of Karonga. These three Christians from Chakaka are Kumbukani Nyirenda, Innocent Harawa and Nancy Kapira.
In 2015, Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka of the Diocese of Karonga mandated some members of the Pastoral Commission to visit and evangelize selected un-evangelised areas including Chakaka. Chakaka is a very remote area to the west of the Livingstonia Escarpment in Rumphi District. It is one of the few areas that did not have any presence of the Catholic Church and have been recently evangelized in order to plant the Catholic Church there.
The three confirmed adults from Chakaka are the first fruits of such evangelisation efforts that started in 2015. They got committed from the start and have consistently followed the three year catechumenate program of adult Christian initiation until their baptism on 3rd August and confirmation of 4th August 2018.
The Vicar General, Mons. Denis Chitete, said that he was happy to see that the pastoral initiatives that started a few years ago have started bearing fruits as testified by the baptism and confirmation of adult Christians from Chakaka. He assured the three that, as native pioneers of the Catholic Church in Chakaka, the Diocese will continue to support them in all ways possible so that more people come to know and accept Christ through the Catholic faith.
The Diocese of Karonga intends to continue building a strong Christian and Catholic presence in Chakaka area through these few confirmed adult Christians.
Lay Movements Start Their Annual Retreats at St Francis Shrine- Kaseye
By Father Joseph Sikwese
The month of August is a very important month for Ecclesial Movements in the Diocese of Karonga. It is the month in which the Pastoral Commission, through the office of the Lay Apostolate organizes annual retreats for Ecclesial Movements at St. Francis Shrine at Kaseye in Chitipa.
“This is one of the very precious moments in my life; I reflect on my life as a Christian. It helps me to refresh and gain more strength for my spiritual life. At first I thought retreats are only for priests and religious.” Commented Catherine Muyaba, a member of Ŵamama ŵa Chitemwano.
The retreats started on 1st August with Ŵamama ŵa Chitemwano and each movement is allocated five days of retreat. The theme for this year is, “Deepening my faith in my Small Christian Community.” The retreats are officially opened or closed with Mass by the Bishop, Rt. Rev. Martin Anwel Mtumbuka. During the opening Mass for the retreat of the Legion of Mary, the Bishop appealed to the Legionaries to pray for the Church, their priests and families.
The programme of retreats is as follows:
1St August to 5th August Ŵamama ŵa Chitemwano
6th August to 10th August Legion of Mary
10th August to 14th August Catholic Elderly Men of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
15th August to 19th August Third Order of St. Francis of Assisi
20th August to 24th August Lay Marianists.
St. Francis Shrine used to be the Parish Church of St. Michael’s from 1949 until 1999 when the mission centre was moved from Kaseye to Chitipa Boma. In 2015 Bishop Mtumbuka declared Kaseye Church to be Shrine were different groups in the Church can use for retreats or prayers. The Shrine is dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi.
Karonga Diocese Receives Two Volunteers from Germany
By Mwawi Shaba
The Diocese of Karonga has received two young volunteers from Germany. The two volunteers are Nadja Pieter and Luna Urban. The two volunteers will be working at St. Mary’s Karonga Girls Secondary School where they are expected to teach Mathematics, Computer and Biology among other roles.
The two volunteers have come as part of a partnership between the Diocese of Karonga and MISEREOR; a development agency of the Catholic Bishops Conference in Germany. MISEREOR has been a long term development partner of the Diocese of Karonga, supporting the works of Development and Justice and Peace departments.
The main purpose of the volunteer programme is to create an opportunity for the youth from Germany to learn and appreciate the world better.
While the above is the main aim, the two volunteers will also be helpful to the school. The Headteacher at the school Mrs Martha Nyondo remarked that the two volunteers will help ease teaching at the school as the school has shortage of teachers. Since their subjects of interest are Mathematics and Science related. The two will be a great motivation to the learners of St. Marys Karonga Girls Secondary School regarding science subjects.
The two volunteers will be at the School for 10 months.
Chipalanje Church Construction Progressing Well
By Leah Nyondo
St Michael’s Parish continues to walk the talk in the area of having good, spacious and strong Church structures from outstation to substation levels.
Recently, the Parish Priest of St Michael’s Parish Father Charles Peter Chinula held a tour to inspect the progress of construction work at St Patrick’s (Chipalanje) Substation.
Addressing Church committee members after the inspection tour, Father Chinula expressed satisfaction with the progress made. Further, he said his objective is to ensure that all outstations and substations have standard church structures.
“It is the duty of the parish to construct good church structures in the outstations and not leaving it to them (Christians in the outstations) because they end up building small and weak structures which do not last long,” said Father Chinula to Church committee members.
Christians support the church construction projects by moulding bricks, ferrying sand and water and providing food to the labourers as their contribution. The rest of the requirements, like cement and iron sheets are, provided by the Parish.
So far the parish is constructing two churches at Chisankhwa and Chipalanje. These churches will be blessed by the Bishop of the Diocese of Karonga Right Reverend Martin Anwel Mtumbuka late September and 4th November, 2018, respectively.
St Michael’s Parish Acquires Land for Livestock and Crop Production
By Leah Nyondo
St Michael’s Parish in Chitipa has purchased 30 acres of land for livestock and crop production as one was one way of generating income for the running of the parish.
St Michael’s Parish, as most of the parishes in the Diocese of Karonga, is in a remote area where most of the Christians are poor subsistence farmers.
Nevertheless, the parish leads, among the parishes in the Diocese of Karonga, in terms of the number of income generating activities that supplement the contributions from Christians in the running of the parish.
Parish Priest for St Michael’s Parish Father Charles Chinula hailed the dedication of the faithful in their drive towards building a self-reliant Church which has also made this project a reality.
He further said that for the Church needs financial resources to effectively carry out its mission of spreading Good news for the salvation of souls. This he said brings about the need for diversifying sources of income other than relying on goodwill contributions of Christians which do not steadily flow.
Farm operations are expected to start soon in preparation for the next growing season. Among others, St Michael’s Parish has St. Kizito Conference Centre, a maize mill and a 15 tonne lorry as major income generating activities.
Health Desk Distributes Enablers to Community TB Volunteers
By Vincent Shaba
The Health Desk of Karonga Diocese embarked on distribution of enablers to Volunteers in Karonga and Chitipa districts from the28th of July, 2018.
The enablers are distributed to Community TB Volunteers through a project entitled “Invest for impact against TB/HIV). This project is funded by Global Fund through Action Aid and Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM). The project, currently, covers 8 Dioceses in Malawi including Karonga Diocese and is coordinated by the National Office.
Enablers include gumboots, face masks, bicycles, soap and T-Shirts etc. The enablers are distributed to both old and newly trained Volunteers in the last phase of the project that ended in 2017.
The enablers are distributed by transporters in company of a staff from Ministry of Health and a Karonga Diocese representative. All 39 Sputum collection points in 8 health centres in Chitipa benefitted from the enablers.
Volunteers expressed gratitude to the Diocese for the supply of protective wear and t-shirts as an identity. The t-shirts will go a long way in spreading message on TB in communities.
Among encountered challenges is poor road network with week bridges. On Thursday, the distribution started in Karonga District.
Ellen Schmitt in Interacts with Women’s Rights Project Beneficiaries in Chitipa
By Leah Nyondo
Recently, the Diocese of Karonga received a consultant working with Misereor Germany, Ellen Schmitt, who came to monitor some of the projects the organization is funding.
The Diocese of Karonga is implementing two Misereor funded projects namely Integrated Rural Development and Women and Girls’ Rights project through the Development and Justice and Peace Desks respectively.
During her visit, Hellen interacted with Justice and Peace Volunteers and beneficiaries under the Women and Girl’s Rights Project to assess impact of the project at Chisankhwa. Among other aspects, Hellen’s interest was also to see how gender and HIV/AIDS issues are being mainstreamed in the project.
Reacting to Hellen’s visit, Justice and Peace volunteers expressed a word of gratitude to Misereor for supporting the project especially for promoting access to justice for the vulnerable people in hard to reach areas.
One beneficiary of the project had this to say: “Domestic violence was the order of the day. I was suffering violence at the hands of my husband, simply because I am a woman. My husband could not allow me to engage in small scale income generating activities under the pretext that I will all of a sudden start indulging in immoral acts. Thanks to CCJP volunteers who counselled my husband now I am able to engage in economic activities and contributing to the welfare of our family.”
The meeting was then closed by the Justice and Peace Desk Officer Mr. Louis Nkhata thanking Ellen for the visit.