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UGANDA: Anglican church followers leaving due to poverty
By Sadab Kitatta Kaaya
Ugandan Observer
http://www.observer.ug/
26 August 2014
The Bible in the book of Proverbs 14:20-21 talks about how poverty can make even your neighbours to shun you.
This is what is happening with the Church of Uganda's Rakai archdeaconry where its flock is dropping out due to poverty. According to the archdeacon, Venerable Canon Eriab Nkambo Mugerwa, the numbers of Christians attending his church are dwindling because they are increasingly swayed by other denominations with initiatives against poverty,
There are 13 parishes and 92 sub-parishes in Rakai archdeaconry, many of them dependent on offertory from the Christians. With widespread poverty in the area, the collections are inadequate to support the church's would-be development projects.
"A church without other sources of income fails to show its presence among its flock because it will not have an impact on its flock in terms of projects that can help them improve their livelihoods," said Canon Nkambo last week during the confirmation of Christians at Dwaniro sub-parish church in Rakai district.
Early this year, the church embarked on a headcount of its members and the outcome put the number at slightly above 30,000 in the area. The figure, according to Canon Nkambo, indicated that the numbers had reduced by nearly 30 per cent.
"The church finds it rough convincing these people that you are for them because you can't attend to their needs," he said.
Many are lost to Pentecostal churches, some of whom enjoy the leverage of international funding.
"The Pentecostal churches have a range of programmes directed at helping the poor out of poverty, which have become too attractive to our flock," Nkambo said. "We need to forge a way forward to mitigate [this]."
On the same hill where Dwaniro church of Uganda sits is another church run by Glory of Christ ministries. With American funders, Glory of Christ church has attracted a big following thanks to its superior services such as education that also comes with some support by US donors.
Tough times
Since he was posted to Rakai two years ago from St John's church Kijjabwemi in Masaka municipality, Nkambo has been encouraging his priests to write project proposals for possible funding. Unfortunately, majority of priests in the archdeaconry lack the skills of writing a good project proposal to convince donors.
The only project that has so far received funding is Bagonvu, an elderly women's foundation. This five-year project is intended to help elderly women regain economic independence.
So far, Christian Hope International, a UK-based charity organization, has offered a paltry Shs 5m of Bagonvu's Shs 270m budget.
Dilapidated
Many of the church's structures are dilapidated. Efforts to renovate them have not been easy because even fundraising drives do not raise much.
"The fundraisings have failed because Christians can offer items like animals -- goats, cows and chicken -- but there is no one to buy them; the best you raise from such an avenue is Shs 3m," Nkambo told The Observer.
This was the amount raised for the rehabilitation of Katerero church, an amount just one per cent of the total budget.
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