Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nakuru (Agenzia Fides) - "Education is an irreplaceable component in the development of a society and to a large extent should define the mission of the Church in the formation of the person for the realization of the well-being of the individual and of society in general", stressed Msgr. Maurice Muhatia Makumba, bishop of the diocese of Nakuru, addressing the participants in the Annual International Conference of Writers. The group of African scholars recently met at the Gaba Campus of the Catholic University of East Africa (CUEA), located in the diocese of Eldoret, to discuss Christianity and the well-being of the African child. According to what was sent to Fides, the Bishop, who is also President of the Council of CUEA, defined it necessary to always consider the cultural aspect for a good education. "The education of African children must be inspired by a dynamic culture that leads to a responsible education system. The encounter between African culture and other cultures has left behind a trail of pseudocultures that make it difficult to know what is truly African", said Bishop Muhatia, referring to the loss of languages and traditions in various African cultures. "Africa should not accept education systems that have evidently brought failures to other societies. We need concrete African values to be able to intervene in the education of today's children. Cultures influence each other for better or for worse, hence the need to promote the integration of traditional African values into the educational system".
Among the participants in the event, Fr. Jordan Nyenyembe, responsible for the AFER magazine of Gaba Publications of the Association of Bishops' Conferences of East Africa (Amecea), who highlighted the choice of the theme of this year's meeting to "promote the pastoral and evangelizing mission of the Church through the promotion of the well-being of the African child". "It is advisable to keep our focus on current events, especially in this long period in which we are marked by the experience of Covid-19 and many have faced family crises that have made many children suffer", said the director of the Gaba Campus of the CUEA Fr. Nicholas Segeja, diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Mwanza, in Tanzania. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 6/10/2021)
