St Martin De Pores Parish Conducts a Review and Planning Meeting to Improve Faith Formation for Children, the Youth and Catechumens
By Lonely Paul Mwandira
The newly established parish of St Martin De Pores conducted a review and planning meeting of the Faith Formation that is done through instructions to Sunday School children, the youth and catechumens. This was conducted on Saturday, 24th April 2021 at Ngerenge (St Martin De Pores Parish Centre).
The meeting was arranged because monitoring of instructions to various faith groups had revealed that there were many challenges in the parish concerning faith formation through instructions to Sunday School children, the youth and catechumens.
The aim of the meeting was to share the challenges and plan together a way forward in order to improve such faith formation initiatives. Led by the Parish Priest, Fr Joseph Sikwese, the many instructors of children, the youth and catechumens that gathered (37 in total) shared the status of faith formation through instructions in their respective prayer centres and Small Christian Communities. They established that there were many gaps concerning adequate learning/ teaching materials and the commitment of instructors, church leaders, parents and learners themselves. Participants agreed on ways of improving coordination of the instructions to Sunday School children, the youth and catechumens in the parish.
Solutions included ways of building the capacity of instructors of the youth and catechumens through the School of the Faith Formation Programme that is running in the Diocese and targeting instructors of Sunday School children. Participants also agreed to involve the local church leaders in monitoring instructions of Sunday School children, the youth and catechumens in all the 12 prayer centres of the parish. They shared an approved diocesan syllabus for such instructions and a checklist for monitoring such instructions and general welfare of children, the youth and catechumens.
At the end of the meeting, the Parish Priest donated some items to the instructors. Each prayer centre received a professional football for children. Each instructor also received a solar powered lamp and a solar powered radio in order to help them when preparing lessons at night and listening to faith formation programmes on the Diocesan Radio, Tuntufye FM Radio.
Also present during the meeting were the Diocese’s Sunday School Programme Coordinator (Mr Benjamin Msowoya), the Diocese’s Catechetical Material Production Officer (Mr Ignatius Mvula) and the Catechetical Methodology Advisor in charge of St Martin De Pores Parish (Mr Paul Mwandira).
CADECOM Brings Business to Karonga Kilombero Rice Farmers
By Norbert Tambalamtuwa Mzembe
At least over 200 Kilombero rice farmers in Karonga are expected to benefit from the partnership between Kajikhomere Foundation Limited and Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM) of the Catholic Karonga Diocese through a Rice Value Chain Project.
Briefing the Ngerenge-Kilupula Area Development Committee (ADC) on Saturday about the project, which encompasses a state-of-the-art rice mill that will be milling 60 tons of rice per day, Project Coordinator and Rice Agronomist for the project, Wiseman Kanyika said the project will mobilise 2,200 rice farmers to grow Kilombero rice. This he said will rescue farmers from unscrupulous vendors who buy their rice at very low prices right at the field when they are harvesting.
“For so many years farmers have lacked a better market for selling their rice. We have been seeing vendors coming to buy right where they are harvesting as a result, farmers have not been profiting very much. We are coming with the market, Kajikhomere Foundation Limited, where farmers will be selling their rice and in turn improve their economic status,” said Kanyika.
According to Kanyika, Kjikhomere Foundation Limited will be processing and marketing rice branded “Kajikhomere Kilombero” produced by CADECOM through Kajikhomere Foundation Limited.
He further said the farmers will be allocated in project sites in the areas of village heads Chiwowola, Simeon and Katumbi in Kaporo North where 800 farmers will be engaged; whereas in Kaporo South in the areas of Msomba, Mwangwela and Mwangomba, 600 farmers will be incorporated; and 800 farmers at Vuwa and Ulaha sections at Karonga Nyungwe and these farmers will be organized into cooperatives.
While providing credit schemes and small-scale mechanization to farmers, the Project Coordinator further disclosed that Kajikhomere Foundation Limited will mobilise a total of 550 farmers to produce certified commercial Kilombero rice seeds through Mphinga Irrigation Scheme. CADECOM will provide System of Rice Intensification training for farmers.
In his remarks, Member of Parliament for Karonga North Constituency, Honourable Mungasulwa Mwambande commended Karonga Diocese for the development which he described as complementing government’s efforts to boost the economies of scale for all. The ADC has since welcomed this magnificent project saying it has come as a sigh of relief to many rice farmers who have been making losses due low prices offered by vendors.
Karonga Diocese Steps Up Child Rights Safeguarding
By Princess Temwa Kamanga
As one way of ensuring protection of children’s rights, the Catholic Diocese of Karonga has oriented its employees and those working in its institutions on the safeguarding policy.
After one of the orientation sessions organized for primary school teachers at St Mary’s Boys Primary School, the diocesan Pastoral Secretary, Father Joseph Sikwese said it is everyone’s responsibility to make sure that children’s rights are protected, at all cost, from all forms of violence regardless of the age of the child.
According to Fr. Sikwese, violence of different forms occurs to children in all communities but people take it as a way of life which should not be the case.
“The main purpose of training is to tell and teach all those working in the institutions of the diocese to know the evils and implications that come after violating a child’s rights. They should work with children without complicating their wellbeing because children are human beings and need not to live in fear”, explained Fr Sikwese.
In his remarks, Karonga Diocese Desk Officer for Justice and Peace Mr. Louis Nkhata said the project targets all Catholic institutions to make sure all rights are protected for the wellbeing of the children as well as employees.
“As a diocese, we will make sure everyone working in this diocese and in our schools is protected to end violence and ensure that children are projected”, added Nkhata.
One of the teachers at St Mary’s Boys Primary School, Pachani Vitowe Kaonga, commended the Diocese for the policy which she said will assist her in handling children and see to it that their rights are protected at school.
At the end of the training, teachers signed the code of conduct for safeguarding children. A similar exercise has been done in all schools, parishes and institutions under the Diocese of Karonga.
Bishop Mtumbuka Celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday at Chiweta Outstation
By Benedict Masudi Kauteka,
Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka of the Diocese of Karonga today 11th April, 2021 led the Chiweta Catholic Out-Station (St Maria Goretti) Congregation in the celebration of the Divine Mercy Sunday. Chiweta Out-Station is under St Francis De Sales Parish in Rumphi District. The Parish is run by the Missionaries of St Francis De Sales (MSFS), also known as the Fransalians which was founded in Annecy, France on 24 October, 1838 by Fr. Peter Mermier [1] under the patronage of St Francis De Sales.
In his homily, the Bishop took time to catechize the faithful on the significance of Divine Mercy Sunday to the followers of Christ who are known as Christians, a name given to them at Antioch. Divine Mercy Sunday was instituted by the Apostles on the 8th day after the resurrection of the Lord, he said.
According to him, this is one of the reasons why Christians from the time of the resurrection worship God on Sunday, the first day of the week, a day on which Christ rose from the dead, defeating death for our salvation.
He further mentioned that on the first day Christ appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, one of them was not around and after hearing from his colleagues that Christ was risen, he doubted it. He continued to say that on the 8th day after the resurrection, Divine Mercy Sunday, the disciples gathered together again to fulfill what the Lord had commanded them to be doing, that is, to celebrate the Eucharist and share the Word. This disciple was now present and he could not doubt any more about the resurrection after Christ appeared to them again. It was on this day that Jesus instructed his disciples with the words “….do this in memory of me”. Therefore when Christians meet together on Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist where there is a priest or when Christians meet together on this same day to share the Word of God without a priest, they do exactly what Christ commanded them to be doing, he said.
The Bishop further pointed out that it was difficult for a Christian in the early days of Christianity to stand in the Synagogue among the Jews on the Sabbath day to preach about Christ as the Son of God who resurrected from the dead as some Jews who did accept Christ as the Son of God who had resurrected from the dead. The Apostles, therefore, began worshipping God on the first day of the week, a day on which Christ rose from the dead and appeared in the morning to three women and in the afternoon to some men who were his disciples.