AMECEA in collaboration with USCCB had organized the fifth national training for top management team for Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB).
The training which began on Tuesday 24th and ended on Friday 27th was attended by vicar Generals, Human resources managers, Finance administrators, Pastoral coordinators, Caritas director, Diocesan secretaries, Vocation directors, Judicial vicars, Moderators , Bishops secretaries , Catechetical coordinator, Administrators of pastoral centers.
According to Ms. Christine Mbugi, the Capacity Building Coordinator at AMECEA, the turnout for the workshop was more than 100 percent. Initially they expected 60 people, but they were 62.
Speaking to AMECEA Online News in Nairobi, the Vicar General for the Catholic Diocese of Lodwar, Fr. Joseph Ekalimon described the workshop as a well thought of, wonderful idea. “It is timely for the Church in Kenya, as it is a renewal of our vision for the years to come and it will go a long way to improve our mode of working within the dioceses,” he said.
Fr Ekalimon said that the content and the mode of presentations for the workshop went beyond his expectations, a sentiment that was also shared by the majority of participants. “When we are talking about leadership and management, we are all leaders, we have the responsibility of transforming our people to witness about Jesus Christ and to advocate the teachings of the Church and so to unite them as one family so in leadership and management, there are new strategies for this,” he said.
He said that every diocese has to have a stand for its pastoral and development activities and so in one way or another pastoral strategic plan is very vital and he was glad that it was among the topics.
Another Participant to the training, Mrs. Jane Kanuri of KCCB said that the training was timely needed and she was glad that it was effective. “The presentations and the discussions were very resourceful and all the topics relevant,” she said.
Topics covered included Church Social Teachings; Leadership & management in church institutions; Strategic Pastoral Planning; Human Resource Management; Investment and entrepreneurship in church institutions. The workshop, like the previous ones, has been facilitated by the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA).
Similar workshops have been held in Addis Ababa for Ethiopian Bishops Conference in August 2013; in Dar-es-Salaam and Mwanza concurrently in May 2014 for Tanzania Episcopal Conference; in Juba in August 2014 for the Sudan and South Sudan Bishops Conference and finally in Blantyre for the Malawi Bishops Conference in November 2014.
“Next we plan to train Uganda Episcopal Conference during the first week of May and Zambia in September 2015,” Ms. Mbugi said.
By Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News