By Dumisani Ndlovu
GWERU – United Apostolic Faith Church, Kingdom Family Centre (KFC) assembly in Zimbabwe has pledged to curb post COVID-19 effects by offering business opportunities to affected rural and urban communities.
Speaking at its inaugural KFC strategy launch, Pastor Thulani Limoni said the church will help ease the impact and implications of post COVID-19 by empowering disadvantaged urban and rural communities with business opportunities in an effort to “evangelise through economic empowerment.”
“As a church that has since realised most churches are hands on deck on preaching the gospel,
while that is fine, as KFC, we saw it fit to go an extra-mile and came up with a strategy that build back Resilience of COVID-19 affected communities. So, we are providing salvation for everyone and with a particular emphasis on the most vulnerable people in urban and rural areas.”
Pastor Limoni said people in rural areas have no income and “it was difficult to preach the good news to people who are hungry and living in poverty”.
While progress has been made in broadening socio economic opportunities for communities and
affirming their rights in the Constitution, Pastor Limoni said the church was playing its part in poverty alleviation in communities.
Church Deaconess, Nyaradzo Phiri said after noting the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic on communities and families, the church decided to come up with strategies to address the deepening of inequalities and persistent violations of the rights of women and girls.
“In our strategic plan which will run between 2023 and 2025, as KFC we are to evangelise through economic empowerment, poverty alleviation, initialisation self-help projects in various communities.
Through the launch of this strategy, entrepreneurship is being taken seriously at community level, as we are starting to roll out self-help programmes that will transform lives,” she said.
She said when the programme starts, they will facilitate and encourage the community to form groups and associations according to areas of interest and start self-help projects as a commitment to the most vulnerable and needy people within the community.
The program will help the most affected communities and individuals to cope with prolonged and Cumulative COVID-19 Stressors.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had far reaching impact on the socio-economic livelihoods and well-being of a large section of the population in Zimbabwe. After establishing the manner and extent to which people’s socio-economic status were impacted on by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to KFC project management team, they will commission the economic empowerment programs to cushion businesses, and to provide social protection to vulnerable groups affected spiritually, socially and economically.
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