CCJP Commissions 65 Members of Justice and Peace Committees to be Agents of Transformation
By Innocent Nazombe
The Justice and Peace Desk of Karonga Diocese conducted a three-day training for transformation (TFT) workshop for Justice and Peace committee members from all five zones (Chisenga, Therere, Thumbo, Wenya, Nthalire) of St. Ignatius Parish from 13th to 15th September, 2017.
The training, which attracted 65 participants, was part of the sustainability (exit) strategies under the Community Managed Women’s Rights Advocacy project which phases in April, 2018.
The training was meant to revamp the Justice and Peace Committees and to align justice and peace work to the holistic evangelization mission of the Church which goes beyond projects or donor funding. Thus the members need to continue with the interventions even in the absence of donor support.
Some of the topics covered during the training were Spirituality of Justice and Peace Work, Principles of Catholic Social Teaching, Transformative Human Development, Human Rights and Constitutionalism and Economic Self Reliance with particular emphasis on Village Loans and Savings.
Speaking during the training, one of the facilitators, Reverend Father John Moyo expressed that real transformation starts from within with mindset change; while religion and government would support the ladders to development, they would only rise if they uphold their own and the dignity of others, work hard and live in solidarity with others.
Speaking on the sidelines of the training, Justice and Peace Desk Officer for Karonga Diocese Louis Nkhata expressed hope that the knowledge and skills imparted in the participants will go a long way in strengthening Justice and Peace Structures at Parish level as the funding partner, Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), is leaving Malawi.
One of the participants hailed the training; “As communities we fail to organize ourselves to overcome our challenges, like lack of potable water, always looking forward to government for aid. We will challenge our communities to develop home grown solutions and work towards uplifting our lives”, said Aaron Ng’ambi.
At the end of the training, zonal and parish committees were chosen. All participants were commissioned to be agents of positive change at personal, family, village levels by fostering practices that respect and promote human dignity.