Anglicans to help ease poverty
2005-07-06 09:16
Johannesburg - The Anglican Church of Southern Africa agreed on Tuesday to set up a fund for human development in seven Southern African countries, Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane said.
"All Southern African Anglican dioceses will, in future, contribute 0.7% of their annual budget to this fund.
"A central funding committee will determine the disbursement of the fund," Ndungane said in a statement.
He said it was agreed at a meeting of the provincial synod, the highest legislative body of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, that the church had a role to play in alleviating poverty in South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Mozambique, Angola and the Island of St Helena.
"It was agreed today (Tuesday) that the church has a role to play in poverty alleviation, especially with regard to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
"Many Anglican dioceses are located in poorer areas of Southern Africa and extra funding is required to strengthen their capacity and to enable them to facilitate effective social development and outreach programmes towards the achievement of the MDGs," he said.
Ndungane said the synod has requested him to approach partners for contributions to this fund.
The MDGs aim for a halving of world poverty by 2015.
- SAPA