AFRICA/MALAWI - New Media Center of Montfort Missionaries, at the service of evangelization

Wednesday, 7 November 2018 social communications   evangelization   orders  

Lilongwe (Agenzia Fides) – Montfort missionaries inaugurate a new multimedia center in Malawi. On Saturday 10 November, with a ceremony presided over by Mgr. Tarcisius Ziyaye Archbishop of Lilongwe, the activities of a communication hub that will strengthen the Catholic presence in the world of television and print media will begin and will be at the service of evangelization in the country.
"The Montfort missionaries - Father Piergiorgio Gamba explains to Agenzia Fides - have been in Malawi since 1910. Over the years they have opened schools, hospitals and centers to alleviate the poverty of the population. Among the various projects they had created a press center in Balaka, halfway between the capital Lilongwe and Blantyre, the main center of the South. During the dictatorship, only pamphlets and religious flyers were printed. In 1992, the typography entered history when it printed the episcopal letter "Living our faith" which was the first brick of a process that brought democracy back to the Country".
From that moment, the Montfort decided to consolidate their presence in the social communications sector because they believe it is important to strengthen the social and political structure of the Country. «The Lamp» magazines are born in Balaka (today it has reached number 128); «Together» for young people (80 issues); «Mkwaso» (200 issues).
In 1997 Luntha Tv comes to life. "A confrere - continues Gamba - had bought a television concession in the eighties. But at the time it was impossible to transmit: dictatorship was too strong and technical means were lacking. So we waited. Our station was founded in 1997".
Initially the TV broadcasts one or two hours a day, then progressively increases the programming, giving life to news broadcasts, religious spaces (celebrations, catechesis, interviews, etc.), formative and in-depth studies. The collaboration with the US network Wtn allows to revive the great events of the Catholic world in Malawi (the Pope's travels, synods, etc.).
With the inauguration of the Lilongwe center, the multimedia network of the Montfort is consolidated. The press center will remain in Balaka (where books are published in English and Chichewa that are sold both in Malawi and in Zambia and Mozambique), the technical center of television and newsrooms. The contents and programs will be produced in the capital, magazines will be distributed and one of the ten bookshops of the Montfort will be active. "Malawi - concludes Father Gamba - is a young democracy. The Montfort want to accompany the Malawians on their journey of building their Country. We want to be on their side to help them build a critical and informed conscience that is the basis of every healthy modern society". (EC) (Agenzia Fides, 7/11/2018)


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