CASM, Honduras (newsletter January 2008)
In the Choloma region in the North West of Honduras, social problems aggravated after the Mitch Hurricane in 1998. There was an amount of drugs and acohol abuse, unemployment, machismo, corruption and violence. Other social problems were: lack of respect for elder people, lack of education, and problems with values and virtues within families. The organization Comision de Accion Social Menonita (CASM) realised that churches are, in theory, social organisations that influence the behaviour of human beings and stimulate local development.
In the Choloma region, many people attend the Catholic church or the (neo) Pentecostal churches. At the same time, CASM noticed that the church was not well enough equipped for this job. Many church leaders focused on spiritual aspects and personal belief rather than on social action. They seldomly looked behind the walls of the church community. Therefore, there were no structures present for interchurch communication and for an integral approach to solve the social problems in the region. The churches lacked a general vision on the social problems. Especially in the Pentecostal movements, theological formation was not well developed. And last but not least, church leadership was not well developed.
Since the year 2000, two interchurch initiatives started in the Choloma region: ECOPA and ASIBAH. CASM helps church leaders in these two initiatives to work on:
- leadership;
- theological knowledge;
- organisational skills;
- establishing a communication system;
- awareness for social problems;
- stress the values of the Christian faith and family values.
This project has been highly succesful. Seven years ago most part of the churches were absent in the field of community development. Now there is full scale participation in this field. Important changes have been realized in the society. Alliances have started between churches itself but also between churches and other local organisations. Church leadership has grown stronger, church leaders now influence local government. Peoples faith in church leaders has grown as well. Many social problems have been solved and communities are developing in the right way.
More about this can be read in the following report: "The participation of church leaders in local development. An experience of the Church Association of Bajos de Choloma", by Nelson Garcia Lobo (2007). Mr. Garica Lobo was a participant of our conference Transforming Development, October 2007, Soesterberg, Netherlands.
You can also visit the website of the organization.
