Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic (EELRCA)
Mission offerings in March support the ministries of our companion synod, the Lutheran Church of the Central African Republic (EELRCA). These include operation of the newly constructed Women’s Center to train women in literacy and job skills, as well as two programs which will help provide future leaders for the Women’s Center: 1) the Village Education Project, which has started coeducational schools in 20 villages that had no schools, and 2) the Young Women’s Scholarship program, which provides funds for high school or technical school education.
In October, 2005, EELRCA then President (Bishop) Andre Zoule and Simone Baigo-Dari, president of the Lutheran women’s organization, visited our congregation and spoke about the need for the Women’s Center. Contributions from our congregation helped support its construction. It is the only building that has been constructed in 15 years in this poorest of African nations. Construction of the Women’s Center fulfills a dream of Lutheran women to have a place to carry out their ministry to improve the lives of local people.
The EELRCA developed the Village Education Project beginning in 1998, to develop curriculum, recruit and train teachers, and provide primary education in villages without schools, as well as to organize parents and the community to support the schools. This project must receive new funding to prevent some of the schools from closing at the end of this year.
Educating women is generally a low priority in CAR. In 1996, Lutheran women decided to start supporting the education of young women at the Maigaro technical high school, and sometimes at a high school in the capital, Bangui, and in some cases college or technical school in Cameroon, as a key leadership development tool for the church. Advisors to these programs are the ELCA missionary couple, Pastor Joyce Graue, advisor to the Women’s organization, and Ian Graue, advisor to the Village Education Project.
An additional request of the EELRCA is for help in building and maintaining a health center in the village of Gallo. A team of health care specialists from Global Health Ministries visited CAR last fall and met with representatives of the church, the government, the village of Gallo, and the hospital in Bouar. They have developed a proposal for the Gallo clinic, which would initially provide obstetric services, fracture and wound care, treatment for severe malaria, meningitis, and dehydration in children, and other services. It would coordinate with existing HIV/AIDS and other programs of the church.
The funds collected through the March mission offerings for the Central African Republic Companion Synod program will go to support these ministries of the EELRCA.