April – May 2008 Micah News

Central Province Launch

During the month of May we had a launch of Micah Challenge in Central Province. This is the fourth launch in the series of provincial launches. So far we have done launches on the Copperbelt (August 28^th 2007), North Western Province (November 20^th, 2007), Luapula province (February 5^th, 2008).

The Central Province Launch took place on May 28^th 2008, at Kabwe Chapel in Kabwe. A total of 150 church leaders, pastors, university students, and members of the civil society attended this meeting which was opened by the Deputy Permanent Secretary of Central Province. Besides this meeting, we had two other meetings with ZAFES groups at Mulungushi University and Nkrumah College of education, where we introduced students to the work of Micah Challenge.

The essence of the provincial launches is to sensitize and engage church leaders and church members about the work of MCZ.

Engagement with the Media

Last month, we released three press releases. The first one was on price surge, the second one was on the occasion of the African Freedom Day, and the last one was on the Central Province Micah Launch

The Campaign Coordinator, Martin Kapenda also had a live interview with Radio Maranatha in Kabwe. The interview was centred on the work of Micah Challenge Zambia and the Central Province Launch.

MDGs Needs Assessment Training Workshop

The MCZ Campaign Coordinator attended the MDGs Needs Assessment Training Workshop organised by the UNDP at Chrismar hotel in Livingstone from 19^th to 23^rd May. The meeting was facilitated by UN staff from New York, Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho. The workshop was attended by planners from government line ministries and the civil society working in the area of advocacy.

The main objectives for the training workshop were to expose the participants to the following:

• Translating the long-term goals such as NDP and the MDGs into operational targets.
• Developing a strategy for increasing absorptive capacity.
• Strengthening coherence between planning and budget processes and guide programming of expenditure.
• Providing a monitoring and accountability framework.

Participants were also introduced to MDG Needs Assessment Tools in the following sectors- Agriculture, Education, Energy, Gender, Health, Justice, Roads, and Water and Sanitation.

Stand Up Speak Out

The MCZ National Facilitator, Rev. Lawrence Temfwe, attended a meeting in Lusaka called by GCAP to meet with Mr Salil Shety, the Global Director of the United Nations Millennium. The purpose for the meeting was to discuss the Stand Up Speak Out event which takes place on October 17^th and to gain an insight on what was being obtained at a global level with regard to the attainment of the MDGs.

Monitoring Zimbabwean elections

The MCZ National Facilitator, Lawrence Temfwe, the Executive Director of EFZ, Bishop Paul Mususu, and a Steering Committee Member of Micah Challenge joined one hundred other faith based Elections monitors from different African countries in Zimbabwe from 25^th to 31^st March to monitor the Zimbabwean elections. During his stay in Zimbabwe, Rev. Temfwe was given a unique role of writing press statements on behalf of the group. Please continue to pray for peace to prevail during the forth coming rerun elections in Zimbabwe.

EFZ General Assembly

The campaign coordinator attended the EFZ General Assembly, which was held at GO Centre in Lusaka from 29^th to 30^th April. A Micah Challenge report was presented which highlighted the activities which were implemented from 1^stApril 2007 to 31^st March 2008. The report showed that Micah Challenge Zambia currently has over 700 churches, organizations and individuals who have signed the Micah Call. Moreover, the year 2007 marked the first year of the implementation of the MCZ three year Plan for the period 2007 – 2010. During the same period Micah Challenge was officially launched in Zambia.

September UN Summit

President Levy Mwanawasa is likely to attend a UN High Level conference to take place on 25^th September 2008 prior to the UN General Council. The aim of the High Level conference is to bring together world leaders, Civil Society and the private sector to help translate existing commitments to the MDGs into action, and strengthen the accountability of all parties in the global partnership for development. Pray that our President, Dr Mwanawasa, will be able to attend this summit and renew Zambia’s commitment to the MDGs. Micah Challenge Zambia will soon be writing to the President to request him to attend this meeting. We will soon be writing to all MCZ District Steering Committees to give them more information on this UN High Level Conference..

Announcements

We call on coalition members to take note of the following important dates on the calendar of Micah Challenge Zambia.

September 25^th UN High level Conference- We will send you more details on what is being planned soon.

October 17^th, Stand Up Speak Out –We have sent out a letter to all district committees. We ask you to look at the events you can do as church. Also look out for activities planned by other civil societies and engage them.

October 12^th Micah Sunday- We hoping that all Steering Committees members will ensure that this is observed in the churches they lead.

October 8^th: Prayer Gathering

Please organize or participate in prayer gathering.