Brenda Wilkinson, staff writer for the General Board of Global Ministries, gave highlights of her
recent trip to Africa. Wilkinson is assigned the responsibility of writing the children's study for
"Children of Africa," the mission study theme for 2000-2001. The trip included various United
Methodist-related children's programs and projects in Zimbabwe, Angola, and Mozambique,
such as churches, day care centers, schools, orphanages, and rehabilitation programs.
Two children from Mozambique
(GBGM photo by Richard Lord)
"Presence of The United Methodist Church has done a lot in alleviating suffering among
poor children, but there is still an urgent need to do more," said Wilkinson. "Children continue to
be the greatest victims of the civil unrest that is taking place throughout the continent. In addition
to the large number who have been orphaned by wars, the AIDS pandemic has left still more
children without parents."
Wilkinson said that while various school programs are functioning, all of the Methodist
institutions are in need of upgrade and more classroom space. The schools could also benefit
from inside plumbing and better electrical systems. There is an urgent need of funding to sustain
special programs like the Hearing Impaired Project at Nyadire Primary School and the Visually
Impaired Project at Mutare Secondary School in Zimbabwe, she added. Basic resources such as
books and computers are also needed.
For more stories about how the General Board of Global Ministries has affected the lives
of children in Africa, check back at the mission news page of the GBGM website at http://gbgm-umc.org/mission/news/gbgmnews.html in the weeks to come.
Global Consultation:
The United Methodist Church and Working People:
Joining the Struggle for Workplace Peace and Justice
Retired staff member Kinmoth Jefferson and GBGM missionary Donald Reasoner briefed the
staff about the Global Consultation held in Atlanta in November. The consultation was jointly
sponsored by the Concern for Workers Task Force, the General Board of Global Ministries, and
the General Board of Church and Society. The Concern for Workers Task Force was mandated
by the 1996 General Conference and includes people appointed by both the Board of Global
Ministries and the Board of Church and Society. Jefferson serves on the task force for the
GBGM.
The consultation drew about 200 people from the United States and from the wider
international Methodist community. Keynote speakers included Linda Chavez-Thompson,
executive vice-president of the AFL-CIO, Bishop Fritz Mutti, chairperson of the Concern for
Workers Task Force, and Stewart Acuff, president of the Central Labor Council in Atlanta. On
the second day, the international forum included the Rev. Gary Mason, of Forth Spring
Community Center in Northern Ireland, the Rev. Daniel Mulunda of the North Katanga
Conference, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Rev. Roland Annaguey, Northwest
Philippines Conference. A fourth address by Vasni de Almeida of Brazil was translated and read
before the conference. De Almeida was denied a visa by the US government and could not attend
the consultation. Don Reasoner noted that three of the invited international guests were denied
visas to come to the consultation.
Reasoner gave a summary of the presentations of the international panelists. Gary Mason
spoke of "the troubles" in Northern Ireland, noting that unemployment among youth was a major
contributor to the paramilitary groups that fueled the violence. Today, peace and reconciliation is
made more challenging by the fact that some of the youths only source of employment was the
paramilitary groups. Daniel Mulunda spoke of unemployment as "the new slave trade" in Africa.
Conditions of poverty force parents to send their children to the cities to find some source of
income. Sometimes they are kidnapped and sold to sweatshops or child prostitution rings. Some
parents sell their children in the hopes that new "owners" will be better able to provide for them.
Mulunda also saw the large numbers of unemployed adults as a direct result of sweatshops using
the cheap labor of children.
Roland Annaguey reported that the labor movement in the Philippines was under siege.
Governments ask labor to make sacrifices to promote industrial peace, while corporations,
particularly outside corporations, are not asked to curtail or reduce their massive profits gained at
the workers' expense. Vasni de Almeida's paper pointed to land as a major issue in the struggle
to reduce unemployment in Brazil and most of Latin America. Local and national governments
may allow the land to lie fallow while people die of malnutrition. Corrupt officials hope to
promote land speculation, selling the land to outside interests. In the land movement, one of the
major human rights issues in Latin America, people take over the land and put it into service for
housing and farming. Thousands have died in these attempts to takeover unused land.
Jefferson concluded by saying that according to its Social Principles, The United
Methodist Church supports workers and their quest for fair labor practices, but little has been
done in recent years. Participants in the Global Consultation had an opportunity each day to
network with each other in the "table discussions." The task force is hoping that more support for
workers' concerns will be encouraged on the conference level. The task force meets again in
February to evaluate the consultation and plan for the future.
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