Understanding the influence of traditional healers in Africa
When he met Pastor Chikumba, Prince was deeply troubled. Trapped in an extra-marital affair, Prince believed that his mistress had given him a love potion to make him her slave. Prince told the pastor that he was on his way to borrow money for his demanding mistress, and begged the pastor to refer him to a witchdoctor who could break the spell.
The traditional African worldview involves spirits and ancestors, and these are believed to influence all aspects of everyday life. African traditional healers are consulted for birth rituals, death rituals, and just about everything in between: illness, relationship problems and bad luck.
But who he?
Evangelist Lungu from Malawi was left on the streets of Harare in Zimbabwe by his mother, when only eight years old. This led to his entry into gangland life, and to his eventual leadership of a violent gang called The Black Shadows.
It was to Christian meeting at a large tent in Harare that he led his comrades, with the avowed intention of blowing it up.
But, through the vibrant witness of a young woman on the platform, and the Gospel message of a Zimbabwe preacher, Stephen – amid chaos and burning around him, went and knelt at the feet of the preacher, laying his guns and bombs before him. It was the start of a new life for him.
A quick turn of the knob and the pot starts heating up. A few seconds of luxury, completely taken for granted. Somewhere in Ethiopia a mother is also heating up a pot for her family with fire created from wood, leaves, animal dung and crop residues.
Most households in Ethiopia still make use of traditional biomass energy as they lack stoves that can make use of other fuel sources. Often it is the women who needs to fetch the firewood, not only for their own families, but also to sell. This is the only income many of these families have. Most women get up before sunrise and cover vast distances to go and collect enough wood to sell. They then make the trip back to the markets carrying nearly 20kg of firewood on their backs.
The Meru North Hope Mission 2020, organised by African Enterprise Kenya in partnership with Meru North Churches started off on Saturday, 17th October 2020.
In the months leading up to this mission, AE Kenya trained 1,112 local evangelists and mission volunteers. More than 500 of these evangelists and mission volunteers were able to participate in the daily mission activities despite the restrictions and challenges brought on by the pandemic. A team of 31 evangelists also joined the mission all the way from Nairobi.
AE Kenya partnered with 126 local churches for the Meru North Hope mission and together they used Home Based Evangelism, Street Evangelism, radio and television to bring a message of hope in Jesus to the people of Meru North.