Building the Church; Building the Community in Supporting Hwange Diocese on Self-Reliance – Catholic Church News

By Quegas Mutale in Hwange

Stella Mundi, a commercial entity affiliated with the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishop’s Conference (ZCBC), conducted a workshop on self-reliance in Hwange on February 12th and 28th, 2024. During the workshop, it was noted that the Church is currently facing a shortage of donors, and local churches must develop self-sustaining initiatives.

Stella Mundi has formed partnerships with several business entities to promote self-reliance among the various dioceses in Zimbabwe. It operates as a Catholic economic vehicle through its various entities. One such entity is Stella Medicus, a Catholic medical aid scheme that aims to assist the underprivileged.

According to Bishop Raphael Ncube of Hwange, Stella Mundi was founded in 2021 and became operational in 2023 with the goal of supporting the Church.

The theme for the Hwange diocese in 2024 is “Christ our hope: A synodal journey towards a self-reliant Church,” which coincides with the approach of embracing the year of the Eucharist. Bishop Ncube emphasises the need for a holistic approach in pastoral, spiritual, and other matters. The lack of funds to build institutions has necessitated the diocese’s search for alternative means of sustaining its operations. “We did not see how funds to build our institutions were generated. Now we are trying to do it ourselves”, said bishop Ncube. This approach is in line with the objectives of Stella Mundi, which seeks to support the self-reliance of dioceses through various initiatives.

During the workshop, various business partners, including the Agriculture Finance Company (AFC) Commercial Bank, Maisha and Lobels, Varichem, Greenwood, and Lancet, explained Stella Mundi’s primary objectives and expectations. Each partner specialises in different services, including agriculture finance, medical aid, and laboratory services, among others. Bishop Ncube highlighted the lack of essential drugs in Catholic health institutions in the Hwange diocese, including St Patrick’s Hospital, Kamativi Clinic, Kariangwe Hospital, Tshongokwe Hospital, and Lukunguni Clinic. The partnership between Stella Mundi and Lancet aims to bring services closer to people, providing affordable healthcare services to the community. The establishment of laboratory services at the doorstep of St. Patrick’s Hospital will eliminate the need to look for laboratories elsewhere, and the same will apply to diocesan health institutions such as Lukunguni Clinic, Kamativi Clinic, Kariangwe Hospital, and Tshongokwe Hospital.

The bishop appealed to priests, religious and laity to encourage people to embrace the services brought by the Church through Stella Mundi as these would benefit them. He explained how the partnership will function and bring mutual benefit. He said a certain percentage of partners’ income will be channelled towards self-reliance.

Fr. Lashiwe Muzamba commended the initiative, and encouraged people in Hwange to embrace it, noting that in rural areas people subscribe to funeral policies but fail to invest in health insurance to delay death. The bishop said the medical aid scheme would also target schools to help learners.

Bishop Ncube said people were not aware of medical aid and lack those who assist them when they fall sick. He advised the church to insure institutions against emergencies, after learning from past crisis like destruction of Kutama college from fire.

Mrs. Charity Mangeya, the Managing director of Lumen Terra’s Catholic Economy value chain shared that “Stella Mundi has partners to help us become self-reliant. What we want as a diocese, are numbers to be self- reliant. We journey with the people.”

In the same way Mr. Mayor Mangeya presented the package that comes with services of Stella Mundi. Mrs. Charity Mangeya concurred with what was covered in the workshop earlier. The success of the Catholic economy is hidden in the number of parishioners. Non-Catholics are welcome to increase the chain value.

Fr. Jabulani Nyoni, the Vicar general of Hwange diocese bemoaned the lack of drugs in health institutions which makes people access them from unlicensed individuals, running the risk of getting fake medication.

Bishop Ncube indicated that the partnership will help generate revenue to self-sustain the Church.

The workshop was attended by the priests, religious and the laity, including Stella Mundi and partners. It concluded by selecting sub-committees to steer the drive of self-reliance in Hwange.