By Quegas Mutale

The Social Communications (SOCCOM) members of All Souls Mission, Binga attended a capacitation workshop at Tusimpe Pastoral Centre on 13 May 2023.

Following the recommendation of the national SOCCOM executive meeting of 02 March 2023 of the need to conduct weekend training, five SOCCOM members of All Souls Mission underwent a seminar to capacitate them in conducting their work. The seminar was running under the theme “and how can they hear without a social network” (c.f. Romans 10: 14-15).

All Souls Mission took the lead in the diocese to be the first to capacitate members of SOCCOM the after the diocesan members were trained on the same on 17-18 February 2023 at Well Woman Lodge in Kasibo, Hwange. The SOCCOM members who attended the training that was facilitated by Quegas Mutale in Binga were Honest Mudimba, Mercy Munsaka, Chisyomezvo Mukuli, Isaiah Munenge and Cephas Ndlovu.

The key aspects covered during the training were the roles and responsibilities of the Social Communications Commission in the Church and community, photography and videography and basics of storytelling.

“This training is an eye opener. We have failed to write stories previously because we had no starting point”, Isaiah Munenge said.

Chisyomezyo Mukuli, a participant expressed her gratitude towards the training which she felt was long overdue.

Honest Mudimba, a SOCCOM member who attended the seminar encouraged other participants to commit themselves to the social communications work to cover news about the Church and to evangelize through media.

The participants acknowledged the importance of skills development in news gathering for Catholic journalists as it empowers them to be effective gathering and sharing information within the Church. The work for Social Communications in Hwange diocese gained momentum in 2022. There was massive recruitment of interested members who joined the communications commission and these need to be empowered with communication skills.