STORY OF CHANGE –
Chipo Kuvarega, a 32-year-old widowed woman from Mubaiwa village in Dorowa, Manicaland, once felt hopeless about the state of her community and church. Plagued by divisiveness, donor dependency, greed, and a lack of collaboration, her local church of 200 members struggled to meet its financial obligations to the Diocese, with only 14 active supporters.
However, Chipo’s life would soon take a transformative turn when her local church, St Michaels Mambo Anglican Diocese of Masvingo, was introduced to the Church Community Mobilisation Processes (CCMP) initiative. This program aimed to strengthen and empower the local church to lead the charge in addressing the pressing concerns of their community.
As Chipo attended the CCMP training, she experienced a profound shift in her perspective.
“I’m realising that everyone has something to give. If you eat daily, you can give. Everyone is responsible to their local church and community. The Church must rise and be the light it is meant to be in the community” she stated with newfound confidence.
The training had awakened her to the idea that the church and the community were intrinsically linked, and that it was their collective responsibility to bring about positive change.
Ironically, the training came at a time when the community had refused to unload a truck full of bricks to renovate the local clinic.
Chipo chuckled at the irony, saying, “Little did we know that it was my (as the Church) responsibility to lead in the processes that bring development to my community and the people within it.”
With this newfound understanding, Chipo envisioned a transformed Mubaiwa village – one that was united, peaceful, and thriving, with the church at the forefront as the light and salt of the land. She recognized that communities in Zimbabwe were often trapped in a cycle of poverty, conflict, and marginalization, and that the CCMP initiative offered a way to break free.
Through the CCMP program, Chipo and her church community were empowered to organize, mobilize, and take action to address the pressing issues they faced. The once-divided community began to come together, recognizing their collective power to bring about positive change.
Chipo’s story is a testament to the transformative power of community-led initiatives that empower local churches to be the agents of change.
The CCMP initiative aims to thoroughly strengthen and capacitate the local Church for self-organization and community mobilization in response to pressing community concerns by utilizing the local Church, local opportunities, and capacities. It aims to create a peaceful community in which the Church leads Holistic Salvation and keeps people like Chipo happy.
