Amid COVID-19, “let us support Church’s ministry to poor, vulnerable”: Zambia Bishops

At least 48 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Zambia; the disease has claimed two lives.

Last year, the landlocked country experienced one of its worst droughts in decades leaving 2.3 million people in urgent need of help according to Caritas Zambia. Earlier this year, the northern parts of the country experienced floods destroying crops. 

Referencing these events, the Local Ordinary of Monze who was receiving donated items on behalf of ZCCB probed, “how will people survive now that COVID-19 is already beginning to stretch their ability to recover from these natural calamities?” 

Acknowledging the donation from the C&S Investments Limited and its Company Directors, the 52-year-old Prelate thanked the entity for coming to the aid of the Catholic Church in Zambia and assured that “the end beneficiaries of these donated items will be people from all walks of life, regardless of tribe, race, creed and political affiliation.”

The Prelate explained that the donated items will go a long way in mitigating some of the challenges that the institutions, which will directly benefit have been facing. 

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“As you may already know, the Catholic Church in Zambia runs 59 health facilities situated in all the 10 Provinces. Out of these, 22 are Hospitals and 37 are Rural Health Centres. These have been facing a number of challenges such as inadequate financial resources, materials and drugs during this situation of COVID-19,” he recounted.

Apart from the health care facilities, Bishop Hamungole said that the donations will be shared among orphanages, old people’s homes and a number of hospices.

The Bishop also announced that ZCCB has set up a COVID-19 Response Fund (CRF).

“The fund at this juncture will mainly be used to prevent the spread of the disease in Zambia,” he said.

The fund will also support the health facilities to respond to the pandemic and Church programs that cater for the most vulnerable persons in the society, the Church leader added.

Meanwhile, in South Africa, the KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council has pledged 1 million Rand (US$53,700.00) towards COVID-19 relief emergency in their KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province.

The Council, which is chaired by Wilfred Cardinal Napier further said it will “roll-out cash vouchers to 1000 vulnerable families in each of the 11 Districts over the next three months through our Church-based fundraising efforts.”

In their April 11 letter addressed to the country’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Council also appreciated “the generous and commendable example” set by the Head of State, the Cabinet and the Premiers who pledged a third of their salary to the Solidarity Fund.

“This is a powerful gesture of inestimable symbolic value,” reads the letter seen by ACI Africa.

“We express our full support for your government’s efforts to save lives and in the process ‘flatten the curve,’” they said and added, “We do this even as we stand in solidarity and mourning with the millions around KZN and the country whose very lives are threatened by both the Coronavirus and the extended lockdown.”

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South Africa has the highest number of COVID-19 in Africa with at least 2,506 confirmed cases; 34 people have died of the virus and 410 others recovered. 

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.