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.
Caritas Board Members Undergo Refresher Training in Corporate Governance
By Mwawi Shaba
Members of the Caritas Commission Board of the Diocese of Karonga have undergone a refresher training to enhance their performance. The Caritas Commission Board is the governance and policy organ that guide the activities of all the 4 desks in the Caritas Commission namely; Justice and Peace, Education, Development and Health. The Board is composed of 5 voting members, 3 ex-officio members and a secretary of the Board who heads the management of Caritas Commission.
The training was organised in order to remind the board members of their corporate governance, policy making and monitoring responsibilities. The training also involve and field learning visit in which board members interacted with field staff and beneficiaries of the activities by Caritas Commission Desks. In particular, the members visited Chinunkha where they interacted with staff, stakeholders and beneficiaries of the women and children rights project. They also visited Kaseye Community Hospital where they interacted with management and staff as well as touring the facility.
The training was conducted at St. Kizito Conference Centre in Chitipa Boma and took 3 full days, from 3rd to 5th July, 2018. The training was facilitated by a consultant who is an expert in the areas of corporate governance and board functionality. The training has therefore reminded board members of their role and gave them new impetus regarding the duty they have to perform to make Caritas Commission an active and accountable player in development work. The chairperson of the Board; Fr Dr Mark Mkandawire describe the training as timely and that it has reminded them of their core mandate and has given them the opportunity to reflect on how they have been delivering on their core roles. ‘For sure we expect a more improved performance from our side and that there will be an enhanced linkage with management’ said Fr Dr Mkandawire.
The training has been financed by Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) as part of a project under the Justice and Peace Desk called Promotion of High Quality, Accountable and Responsive Public Health Services
Karonga Diocese Develops Consolidated Annual Programme for 2018
By Moses Raymond Kamanga
Walking the talk of embracing the centralised structure of running the Church in Malawi, Karonga Diocese takes a further stride by holding a joint planning meeting to come up with an annual consolidated programme for all the Commissions of the Diocese.
Opening the meeting, Bishop of the Diocese of Karonga, Rt. Rev. Martin Mtumbuka, stated the importance of the meeting and having an annual consolidated programme to make sure that each commission knows what other commissions intend to implement.
The meeting brought together all Parish Priests of the Diocese of Karonga, desk officers of the three commissions of the Diocese namely; Pastoral, Caritas and Finance Investments and Administration.
Taking the opportunity of the gathering, Bishop Mtumbuka announced the opening of Chisenga Health Centre under the Diocesan Health Department which will be run by Lusubilo Orphan Care. Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, the Bishop explained that though the Health Centre will require patients paying something for treatment, the Chisenga community will also benefit more from Lusubilo Orphan Care services.
The Diocese of Karonga is privileged to have embraced the centralised way of running the Diocese to help the young diocese share resources and act as a unit in delivering spiritual and social development programmes to the Christians and all people within its area of jurisdiction.
Due to these strides, the Diocese has set a pace which other Dioceses in the Ecclesiastical territory of Malawi are emulating.