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Christian Rural Service Aids in Development of African Villages

Diocesan Press Service. June 5, 1968 [66-11]

NEW YORK, N. Y. -- Upon rural Africa the fate of the rest of that unfolding continent may well depend, for it is from there that food must come to feed the exploding population. Yet rural Africa, by and large, is far from ready to do the job.

In an effort to bring medical service, education and the modern techniques of agriculture and animal husbandry to the many unserviced villages the Christian Rural Service program of the Diocese of Kigezi began in early 1965.

Since its inception, the project has had to expand its sites and now serves the whole Province of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

Training has already begun for groups of dedicated Christians, with experience and education, so that they can go to villages and act as "yeast. " These men have been involved before in Christian service, and so integration with the ongoing work of the Church will be ensured.

For four months the men participated in a training program which combined classroom theory and field work.

The first two weeks of the program were spent training the men in how best to approach village people, and in helping them "catch a vision of the whole Gospel for the whole man -- the demonstration of the love and concern of God for his health and home and farm, and for his place and life in the community, as well as for his soul," as the Rt. Rev. R. E. Lyth, Bishop of Kigezi, expressed the purpose behind the project.

The scene then shifted to a five-day course run by the government Departments of Health and Community, designed to aid in ministering to the health needs of the community, as well as to the individual. Later on in the training the government again made available their resources and gave the trainees a week's course at the Government District Farm Institute on such topics as soil conservation, crop rotation, row planting, harvesting and storing.

These courses not only gave the trainees technical knowledge but also alerted them to the services the government is offering. When they go to villages they can then act as a bridge between the community and the government.

The remainder of the training was spent in villages throughout the Diocese, experiencing at first hand everyday village life. They helped make protected springs, trained adult literacy teachers, and worked with self-help groups and clubs. They had opportunity to use their knowledge of first aid and encouraged the building of safe and smokeless kitchens and the use of more modern methods in such traditional occupations as bee-keeping.

The clergy of the parish where the trainees are now at work joined the trainees for part of their field work, enabling them to see for themselves what could and was being accomplished.

While the community service aspects of this program are of great importance, equally important is the contribution the program is making to the spiritual growth of the areas being served.

Field workers have rallied villagers to rebuild churches which were in disrepair. They have filled in where there was no local clergyman until one could be appointed, and they have preached at informal meetings, in churches, in Sunday Schools and at conventions.

This vital part of the life of the church in Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi was made possible, in large part, by a contribution of $2,800 from the Episcopal Church's 30 Percent Fund and a like contribution from the Anglican Church of Canada.

The 30 Percent Fund is made up of contributions from sponsors of Projects for Partnership over and above the costs of their particular projects and by gifts to the fund itself.

It enables the Episcopal Church to respond to emergency needs and to finance projects such as the one in Kigezi, which for one reason or another have not attracted individual sponsors.

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