mobilising local churches to respond
Theo Mbazumutima from iThemba partner Rema Ministries shares how church mobilisation is working in Tanzanian refugee camps and amongst refugees returning to Burundi…
Rema Ministries was founded to serve the needs of Burundian refugees. Over the last few years Rema has networked and mobilised over one hundred local churches in Tanzanian refugee camps and within Burundi itself to offer counselling and care to those affected by HIV and AIDS.
At Rema, we deliberately aim to support the local church in carrying out its mission without relying on external resources. We believe that even the most marginalised people have skills, abilities and capacities to address HIV and AIDS and other poverty-related problems. Our work is to train them and help them identify and strengthen the resources they already have. It is an approach that ensures the church’s ownership, stimulates full community participation and enhances the sustainability of the project. Self-esteem rises despite extreme economic hardship.
It is through such an approach that church-based HIV and AIDS programmes are being run by local churches in Tanzania and by returnees in Burundi. They have sensitised their communities to the issue of HIV and the need for testing. A variety of orphan care programmes have also begun. These programmes are run by church volunteers with the input of Rema Ministries only where technical support is required.
This self-supported approach is not without its challenges; one of which is the lack of resources for crucial and sometimes expensive items.
To address this, Rema has begun combining self-supported and funded approaches. This way, local churches that demonstrate the capacity to manage locally available resources can access more resources, especially in areas where this does not jeopardise local church ownership.
For example, a joint clinic project in South Burundi between Rema and local churches and the community has proved successful. The community donated land, collected stones, and made bricks: Rema provided other building materials which were unavailable locally and is now working with churches to develop a Health Insurance Scheme, run by the church.
Similarly, in 2008, Rema will be establishing a Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centre in Ulyankulu camp, Tanzania, to complement the work that the churches are already doing with their own resources.
> Back to the Rema Ministries project page
