Bishop Bickerton's Congo Journal - Day 2
What an awesome day! Today was the culmination of a couple of years worth of work on the part of our Global Health Team. Let me set the stage.
For several years now we have been promoting a very basic understanding of how to do effective ministry on a global scale that has been, for several, quite difficult to embrace. If we really want to eliminate malaria-related death in Africa it must be done country-wide in a massive operation of cooperation and coordination on both sides of the ocean. To make a sustainable impact, we must have a vision which extends beyond a single hut or a small village. In addition, we must understand that the magnitude of this problem cannot be solved by us alone. The United Methodist Church did not set the table for eliminating malaria-related deaths. We only sit at the table with a whole host of others who, working together in a collaborative, non-agenda-driven model, bind themselves together with the common goal of getting rid of this killer disease.
Today was theory put into practice. Here, in Lubumbashi, Congo, a collaborative effort called “CORESA” was formed among United Methodists, Anglicans, Muslims, Apostolics, and others to address malaria in this province. Through CORESA mosquito nets are being distributed to God’s children by those of many denominations. Among those passing out the nets are trained workers who also follow up to see that they are being used properly. Many here have been saying for weeks that they have never seen people from across the religious spectrum work together like this before!
Today was the “kick-off” of the distribution in this community. Yvonne Chaka Chaka, the Beyonce of Africa, came to sing. Speeches were given. Prayers were prayed. And thousands -- literally thousands-- of Africans flooded the make-shift stage to hear the message of how to use the nets and why they were so important. It was a sea of needy being helped by a flood of faith-based volunteers.
After the celebration, I had the distinct and unique privilege of hanging nets with two new friends: a Muslim and an Anglican priest. One of us drove the nails, another tied the knots, and another hung the nets. Health workers stayed behind to give the training. It was a demonstration of collaboration and determination.
This day was important not only because of the nets distributed, but also to demonstrate a model that must be replicated all throughout Africa if nets are to be distributed and used effectively. The collaboration also must be replicated at home in the US if we are to effectively raise money, awareness and participation. I came today to witness a model of cooperation and collaboration that, if replicated, can be one of the keys that will open the door for us to say with confidence, “Malaria NO MORE!”
Bishop Tom
By: Bishop Thomas Bickerton On 4/16/2010
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