Bishops in Zambia Pen Gratitude to Pope Francis after €100,000.00 Donation

The ZCCB Secretary General said that the Episcopal Conferences of Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi had, together, penned the request to Pope Francis and had each received €100,000.00.

He noted that the help from the Vatican was timely, especially for the people of God in Zambia who, he said, had been worst hit by the pandemic compared to many other countries in the region.

“The situation of Zambia during this pandemic is worse than many countries considering the fact that we are a landlocked country and we depend on other countries, especially our neighbors for supplies,” Fr. Cleophas said, and added, “When COVID-19 struck and lockdown was declared in many countries, we were cut out of important supplies such as food and even medical supplies.”

Since the onset of COVID-19 lockdown in Zambia in March, the country has been grappling with a shortage of medical equipment and personal safety equipment such as face masks and sanitizers, the Zambian Cleric told ACI Africa.

“The testing has not been efficient because the country doesn’t have sufficient equipment,” he further said, adding that those who test positive of the virus are left to their own devices because they cannot afford medical expenses.

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COVID-19 lockdown came just as Zambia’s economy was getting on its feet after suffering historical floods that were preceded by one of the worst droughts the country had experienced in decades.

According to a March 23 local media report, shortly after the country proceeded to lockdown, over 700,000 people in different parts of Zambia had been affected by floods.

The country’s Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) reported that families in the most affected provinces including Luapula, North-Western, Copperbelt, Northern, Muchinga, Eastern, Western and Lusaka were in urgent need of relief food during lockdown.

As for the protracted 2018/2019 drought season, Fr. Cleophas said that over 2.3 million people had been left on the verge of starvation and that their situation had been aggravated by the lockdown.

Caritas Zambia, in February, sent out an appeal for Euro 745,000 to support communities that had been impacted by the drought, especially in the western side of the country where years without rainfall had left perched fields and dried-up rivers.

To support the vulnerable communities, even before the donation by the Holy Father came in, the leadership of the Church in Zambia had embarked on sensitization programs on various communication channels and was providing pastoral response to the people affected with COVID-19, Fr. Cleophas recalled.

“We accompany those who have tested positive with the virus through prayers, counselling and even administering the sacraments of Baptism and Anointing of the Sick. We always assure our people that they are not on their own,” he says.

The Church leadership, through Caritas Zambia and other institutions within the local Church, had also embarked on a humanitarian response, rallying for funds to buy food and protective equipment for vulnerable individuals in the country, regardless of their religious backgrounds.

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.