Anglican Diocese of Southern Malawi has embarked on a series of post-disaster training sessions to help people recover from the adverse impact of Cyclone Freddy.

The trainings, which are being conducted at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Blantyre, come at a time the Southern Region is recovering from the cyclone which killed more than 600 people in mid-March this year.

Speaking in an interview after officially opening the training, Anglican Diocese of Southern Malawi Bishop Alinafe Kalemba said the trainings organised by Global Partners in Mission of Texas, United States of America, are important to help the church find ways of managing itself in difficult times.

“The trainings are two- fold, namely resource mobilisation and leadership in times of crisis,” he said.

Participants follow a presentation
during the training

One of the trainers, the Reverend Keith Pozzito said there is need for the church to be consistent even during a crisis.

He said: “During this training, we are going to focus on what it means to be a church in the midst of crisis.

“How do we continue to do the mission of the church when calamities strike and how God works in the midst of disaster and calamity.”

A participant, Patrick Lwanda, said the trainings will help the church to be proactive in times of disasters.

The training covered topics such as leading in a time of crisis, creating unity in a time of crisis, finding renewal in a time of crisis, business planning and reflections on failure.

The training attracted 108 participants from the Anglican Diocese of Southern Malawi congregations and 24 people from partner churches under the Compassion International, according to lead organiser Tawanda Madovi.

The post first appeared on The Nation Online.