KENYA: Commitment
Statement of AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas First Regional Meeting held in
Nairobi on 6th to 8th February 2016

Preamble

In
the 17th Plenary of Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern
Africa (AMECEA), the Bishops passed a resolution on the need for the Justice
and Peace as well as Caritas Commissions to find modalities to work closer
together in an effort to bring about the face of Christ to the people of God.

This
resolution was strengthened during the 18th Plenary of AMECEA in Malawi in 2014
where the Bishops passed another resolution creating the department of Justice
Peace and Caritas in an effort to build synergies in the works of charity and
mercy.

This
collaboration was also emphasized in the MUMEMO; Declaration and the Kinshasa
Declaration, which clearly outlines the integral nature of charity in the work
of the Church and the responsibility of the Bishops to guide this work as
stated in 25a of Deus Caritas Est: “For the Church, charity is not a kind of
welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, but is a part of
her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being.”

In
the same spirit, we the National Caritas Directors and the National Executive
Secretaries of Justice and Peace from the (AMECEA) Region are elated to have
been able to carry forward this spirit of the AMECEA Bishops and have been able
to hold our first joint meeting in Nairobi which is a first of its kind in the
region and true in the continent.

This
meeting is a culmination of a series of meetings and events and ultimately in
accordance with the directive issued by His Holiness Pope Francis to find ways
of holding hands and creating more efficiency and effectiveness in an effort to
serve the people of God better and especially in the spirit of St. Francis of
Assisi who reminds us that the bond between concern for nature, justice for the
poor, commitment to society, and interior peace are inseparable. (Laudato Si 10).

COMMITMENT STATEMENT

We
the National Caritas Directors and National Justice and Peace Executive
Secretaries from the AMECEA Region therefore declare that:

Inspired
by the call of Pope Benedict XVI, to serve with professionalism, compassion and
care with formation of the heart, we commit ourselves to always have the face
of Christ in all our work with a clear focus on enhancing the dignity of the
people of God.

1. Inspired
by the call of Pope Benedict XVI, to serve with professionalism, compassion and
care with formation of the heart, we commit ourselves to always have the face
of Christ in all our work with a clear focus on enhancing the dignity of the
people of God.

2. We
Justice, Peace and Caritas Heads of Departments from AMECEA member countries
will continue working together through information and knowledge sharing and we
call upon other social departments to hold hands to serve the human persons.

3. We
call upon AMECEA Justice Peace and Caritas Department to invest more in
research on topical areas affecting our conferences which include extractives,
migration/trafficking, conflict resolution, climate change and livelihoods

4. We
commit ourselves to ensure good stewardship in our work for the common good of
all and commit ourselves to focus our programmes on formation guided by
Catholic Social Teaching while emphasizing on ownership and sustainability.

5. We
recognize the complexity of the issues of exploitation in the extractives
industries in our region which does not benefit our people, we commit ourselves
to have a stronger voice on negative effects of extractives and economic
injustices.

6. We
recognize the reoccurrence of emergencies in our region. We thus commit
ourselves to develop strategies to work towards building an emergency
solidarity fund to respond efficiently and effectively to different disasters
in the region and within the national conferences.

7. We
are concerned with human trafficking and undocumented migration caused by a
number of factors. Persons who are
victims have to be handled with human dignity. While recognizing the laws of
the different countries, we are committed to address the root causes and the
needs of the persons who are affected.

8.
Having
discussed the issue of radicalization in the region, we commit to develop and
implement programmes that promote social justice with emphasis on economic
issues affecting the youth.

We commit ourselves to
network and collaborate with other like-minded agencies and stakeholders
working in the AMECEA region dealing with various social issues in service of
God’s people.

Present

1.
Antony Mbandi – Justice Peace and Caritas Director – AMECEA

2.
Beatrice Odera – CJPC Executive Secretary Kenya

3.
Bekele Moges Kidane – Caritas Director Ethiopia

4.
Carstens Mulume – Director of Social Development – Episcopal Conference of
Malawi

5.
Cassian Lushinge – Director of Human Dignity – Tanzania Episcopal Conference

6.
Fr. Kiflom Tesfaghiorghis – Secretary General – Eritrea Conference of Catholic
Bishops

7.
Guelay Woldegiorgis Kahsay – CJPC Executive Secretary Ethiopia 8. Jim Long John
– CJPC Executive Secretary South Sudan

9.
Laurenti Masui – Caritas Director Tanzania

10.
Martin Chiphwanya – CJPC Executive Secretary Malawi

11.
Msgr. Dr. Francis Ndamira – Caritas Director Uganda

12.
Prossy Nambatya – Representing CJPC Executive Secretary Uganda