From Sheenagh Burrell, ALMA Co-ordinator
almacoordinator@london.anglican.org T: Tuesdays: 020 7932 1231
Dear ALMA Reps and Friends,
September has been an abundant month for ALMA!
30 September - 3 October Delegates from Anglican Youth for Southern Africa meet to look at ACSA 2020 Vision and to set goals to mobilise the young people into action.
3-6 October Anglicans Ablaze Conference in Johannesburg. We’re hoping Bairo Garcia, Angolan Youth Executive Secretary will meet up with the group from Niassa – Mario, Ramim, Diniz and Helen Van Koevering, and attendees from Lebombo
11-19 October Revd Mark Melluish, Fiona Cole, Cathy Webber and I from St Paul’s Ealing are visiting Nampula, Morrupula and Lichinga. This is a parish visit rather than an ALMA visit for me but I will be going to Maputo from 20-23rd October to visit Bishop Dinis and Maputo.
19-29 October Bishop of Kensington, Bishop Paul Williams, and ordinand Alexander Cacouris will visit both Niassa (19-23 October) and Lebombo (23-29 October) ending their visit at the
26-28 October Lebombo Diocesan Family Weekend
November (date to be arranged) ALMA REPS MEETING. This will be in the second half of November and be an opportunity to hear about the visits to Angola for the 10th Anniversary of the Diocese, and the Hammersmith and Ealing visits to Mozambique
There are 51 students on the Ministry and Mission Course this year: 15 in Luanda, 32 in Mucuba and four in Songo. They are using the SEAN Theological Education by Extension material – the Gospel of Matthew which Revd Mike Clark helped translate for Angola. Interestingly Niassa have also started using this for their Community Priest training courses too.
Bishop Dinis has shared news of his visit to Zove in September, and also of the conferences and new leaders of the Youth section, and the Mother’s Union.
Helen (Doery’s) report on the ALMA Reps meeting with Bishop Mark is in the Meeting section of the site. It was wonderful to welcome not only Bishop Mark to the meeting but also Bishop Richard – who led us in a fulsome response to the last picture in Bishop Mark’s presentation!
Christian Aid have sent this news:
In June 2012 a participatory video project funded by Comic Relief took place in Kwanza Sul, central Angola. Working with Christian Aid and local partner, ACM, Insightshare trained a production team of eleven local farmers and NGO workers to make a film about climate change. With no autumn rains this year, and increasingly erratic rainfall for the past decade, the team decided to focus on drought. Working closely with their neighbours, they produced four films in just two weeks. The films give an insight into the way in which people in the region are addressing the changes in their environment, but they also demonstrate the challenges to innovation and mitigation against climate change for people whose livelihoods are vulnerable.
Two major road projects are starting in Maputo this month (September). Already under way is the 74 km Maputo ring road. This follows a colonial plan and uses land which has largely been left vacant because of the road plans, although some people and businesses will have to be moved. There is a 53 km outer ring road which will be a dual carriageway that allows north-south traffic to bypass Maputo and Matola, and also serve the rapidly expanding outer suburbs. The remainder is converting the Marginal (coast road) between Clube Naval and Costa do Sol to dual carriageway and then extending the road to Marracuene.
The project will cost $300 milliion and should be completed by 2014. The contract was won by the China Road and Bridge Corporation-Mozambique. Mozambican workers are complaining that they are not being given the protective working clothes given to Chinese workers, and are obliged to work more than 8 hours a day without overtime pay.
The other project is a bridge over the harbour between Maputo and KaTembe and a road south through Belavista and Ponta D’ouro to the South African border. The $725 million project is funded 5% by the Mozambique government and the rest by the China Exim Bank, 10% as a concessional credit and the remaining 85% at 4% interest for 15 years, with a 5 year grace period (no repayments). The bridge and road will be run as a concessioned toll road and will be expected to pay back its construction costs.
With best wishes to you all, and thanks to those who baked for and helped with the Reps meeting with Bishop Mark,
Sheenagh Burrell
ALMA Co-ordinator
Tel: 020 7932 1231 Tuesdays Diocese of London, London Diocesan House 36, Causton St, London SW1P 4AU.