20 Jun 2023

Scores of Christians from various church denominations in Maun on Sunday turned up for prayers aimed at seeking divine intervention regarding social ills such as gender based violence (GBV), high road accidents, alcohol and substance abuse, high unemployment.

The prayers were organised by the Christian Women Fellowship.

Speaking during the prayer session, vice chairperson of Maun Minister’s Fraternal, who is also a pastor at Rivers of Life Church, Reverend George Banda said the church was one of the institutions that could help government address challenges that the society faced.

As faith based organisations, he said, they had to take action and lead people to God so that their challenges would be alleviated.

He noted that losing loved ones through gender based violence, road accidents or drugs was not easy.

Rev. Banda also stressed the need to pray for families, saying many families were dysfunctional because of lack of cooperation and unity.

Family, he said, was the foundation of unit in society.

Ms Peggy Ramaphane from the Methodist Church expressed concern that gender based violence was unending despite interventions by government and other civil society organisations to curb it.

Women and children, she noted, were mostly affected by GBV, adding that the scourge also fuelled the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country.

She noted that statistics had shown that 37 per cent of women were abused by their partners and that 26 per cent of men had  acknowledged that they abused women while 21 per cent of men had experienced abused.

Ms Ramaphane also said the survey indicated that children were abused at schools, homes and even within communities. She added that boys were abused physically abused while girls were sexually abused. She said the survey also showed that children were indulging in drug abuse and that they were sold drugs by some parents.

She urged faith based organisations to stand against such challenges and to support government efforts to eradicate such social ills.

“We are hopeful that God will hear our prayers and the nation will live peacefully,” she said.

Bishop Moagi Ntukununu of Eloyi Christian Church said they could combat social ills through prayer and that the Bible encouraged them to correct what was wrong in society and bring about righteousness.

He also encouraged congregations to support and respect the leaders of the nation so that they could execute their duties effectively.

He noted that leaders had families and responsibilities outside of their work and that they faced some unique challenges. Ends