We have all learned a good many new things because of the lockdown and some of them have caused us to do familiar things in new ways with really positive results. One such thing is the meeting of The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Roundtable on Zimbabwe.
I have been privileged to Chair this meeting for Archbishop Justin for a number of years now and we held a meeting this Tuesday 16 March. Since the lockdown began, as with so many other meetings, we have been conducting this one via Zoom. As a result we have been able to invite the Bishops of the Dioceses in Zimbabwe to join us and so we can hear from them about the situation in Zimbabwe. Before the pandemic we relied upon meeting when one of the Bishops was in London for another reason or on reports that we had been able to gather before we met. So, this new way of meeting is so much better and gives us a real sense of the situation.
On Tuesday I was joined in the meeting by our Area Bishops and Dean, each representing one of our Links, and the Bishop of Rochester, The Rt Revd James Langstaff, as the Diocese of Rochester is linked with the Diocese of Harare. There were some others from our Dioceses who have a part in the Links and most importantly some of the Bishops from Zimbabwe. Bishop Farai joined us from Harare, Bishop Godfrey from Masvingo, Bishop Erick from Manicaland and Bishop Ignatios from Central Zimbabwe. It was really good to see them even if the internet played up a bit on occasion and we lost them for a few minutes every so often.
The picture of life that we gained from the Bishops was of one where many things are a challenge. This has, of course, been true for many years now because of the political and economic situation there. During the course of the meeting we learned much about the current situation and it is very concerning.
The Bishops told us that there have been good rains this year and the crops are growing. This is really excellent news as it will help so much with ensuring that people have enough to eat. But the rains are continuing and this does lead to concerns that the crops will suffer from too much rain. This is one of the constant battles for farmers in Zimbabwe as they often find that they have too much, or too little, rain and they believe that some of this is due to global warming.
The Bishops told us about the food security programmes they have in their Dioceses. These help to ensure that there are feeding programmes at local church schools which also help local communities to grow food. The boreholes which are necessary for the schools to be able to offer feeding programmes to the students can also be used by local villagers to provide water for their own crops too. The land around the schools is further used to offer programmes to help local people to learn how to farm and grow food for their families. They are also able to sell what is left over. The provision of boreholes helps with hand-washing and other hygiene, too, which can help to slow the spread of Coronavirus.
Bishop Ignatios from the Diocese of Central Zimbabwe talks about feeding projects in this video:
The lack of food is very worrying, but it is more concerning that the rollout of vaccinations is going very slowly. So far, in a population of around 15 million only a few tens of thousands of people have been vaccinated although plans are in place to extend this to three million. Zimbabwe is part of the World Health Organisation’s COVAX initiative which seeks to give equality of access to vaccinations across the world and to pay for 20% of the vaccines needed in countries that will struggle with the cost of vaccinating their people. The vaccines that have been distributed have been made available though this programme.
The Zimbabwean Government has joined South Africa in refusing to use the Astra Zeneca-Oxford vaccine. This means that the only one approved for use is the Pfizer vaccine which is difficult to use in hot climates as it needs to be stored at -70 degrees celsius. The number of vaccines available is not the only problem as the Bishops told us that many people are afraid to have the vaccine and the Church is working hard to encourage everyone to take it as and when available.
The churches have reopened, but they can only have 50 members in any one act of worship which is going to be a challenge because there are often many more people in the congregations. Churches have been running more than one service in the high-density areas, but some are afraid to come to church because of the virus and it is hard to see how and when this will change.
Just as in our churches here the need to close for public worship and people’s inability to work has meant that Diocesan finances have been very hard hit. So, as well as not finding it easy to pay the clergy stipends, the Diocese has had to stop paying for other benefits for the clergy such as health insurance premiums and funerals packages. This is really hard as clergy families, like others, are struggling and any change in benefits brings hardship. As in other families many clergy have suffered from COVID-19 and although most have recovered this has been very hard.
The situation of the Church in Zimbabwe is very challenging and therefore the prayers and financial support that we are able to offer for and to them will I know be received with joy and thanksgiving. I hope that you will feel able to join with me in praying for our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe. If you feel that you can, please donate to the Lent Call so that we can help to provide the resources that are needed to continue the work of the Church in our Link Dioceses.
I hope that, like me, you will feel able to make a donation as a result of receiving your vaccine or from money you have saved from not being able to spend on entertainment because of the lockdown. I know that this time has been hard for many of you and that you will not all be able to give financially but your prayers are valuable to our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe as their prayers are for us.
Here is a prayer for use with our Lent Call materials.
Creator God,
we give thanks for all that you have given to us.
We pray for those who are experiencing food insecurity
in the places featured in the Lent Call and elsewhere.
Help us to show compassion for them.
Give us the will to work with others to help to bring about change.
Help us to show our care and concern for those around us who are in need.
Bring justice and fullness of life to all your people.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
Amen.
For more information about the ways you can donate to the Bishop’s Lent Call please visit the How To Give section of our Lent Call pages.
