“Church running out of resources” amid COVID-19 Restrictions: Zambian Prelate

The items Bishop Hamungole received are to be distributed to all 11 Catholic Dioceses in Zambia including other Church organizations like the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia and Zambia Council of Churches, he said.

Speaking during the September 1 event, C &S Investments representative, George Chellah expressed his company’s indebtedness to the Catholic Church for its “genuine stance for the weak, disadvantaged and underprivileged segments of the population.”

“At all times, you have answered the call to action to bring about a more equal society and practically demonstrated this by clothing, feeding, heeding and educating those who otherwise would not have access to any reasonable fulfillment of such needs,” Mr. Chellah said.

Bishop Hamungole further appealed for aid from people of goodwill to help in “feeding the hungry” amid COVID-19 challenges in the Southern African nation.

“My brothers and Sisters, nothing is too little. For example, if many of us give a little, just even 2 Kwacha, it can go a long way in feeding the hungry,” Bishop Hamungole who heads the Commission for Social Communications of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) appealed.

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He continued, “Imagine if a thousand of us contribute just a 5 Kwacha each month in a parish throughout Zambia between now and the end of December, 2020. This can feed a number of families in our communities.”

In April, Bishops in Zambia encouraged the people of God in their country to reach out to the poor and vulnerable in their midst rather than expect foreign donations.

“We, the Catholic Bishops in Zambia, strongly believe that we can mitigate the suffering of the poor and vulnerable by sharing whatever resources we have among us,” Bishop Hamungole said on behalf of the members of ZCCB.

In sharing resources, the Bishops said in their April 14 message, “we will contribute towards resources needed to save many of our people from being infected with the virus, from passing it to others, and from dying with the disease.”

Zambia has recorded at least 12,381 COVID-19 cases including 11,479 recoveries and 290 related deaths.

In May, the representative of Pope Francis in the Southern Africa nation donated  three ventilators and N95 as well as surgical masks to benefit three hospitals. He said that the donation was part of the Holy Father’s initiative to help “all the African countries.”

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.