NAIROBI JANUARY 16, 2015(CISA) – Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) has launched “Paths of Development” a book that highlights the Catholic Church as a partner in poverty alleviation through self help projects.
While officially launching the book at the CUEA grounds in Karen, Nairobi, Archbishop Zacchaeus Okoth of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kisumu said the book “will improve the lives of the people.”
“The findings indicate that the task of poverty eradication requires joint action of various agencies. The research too indicate that the Catholic church self help groups as opposed to the government revolving loan fund can be an alternative initiative to encounter the social processes entrenched in the local settings that lead to poverty,” said Archbishop Okoth.
He added that the Church had three key responsibilities: proclaiming the word of God, celebrating the sacrament and exercising the work of charity adding that “the three duties are inseparable.”
According to Rev Prof John Lukwata, the local project director, of the department of Sacred Liturgy, Faculty of Theology at CUEA, the study was set out to assess the government of Kenya’s revolving loan funds and the Catholic church‘s self help group’s programs.
“We began the project by pointing out the commitment of the international community in redressing the challenges of globalization such as intensifying poverty, unemployment, social disintegration and many others,” said Rev Prof Lukwata.
The research was done between 2011 and 2012 and the findings published last year by the CUEA press.
The poverty reduction research was done in collaboration between CUEA, Nairobi and the centre for Research, International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU) in Paris.
Other research collaborators included the Kenya government, several public servants on the four research districts of Kisii, Siaya, Makueni and Yatta and the three Catholic dioceses of Machakos, Kisumu and Kisii among others.
The event also saw another book “Year of the Priest, faithfulness of Christ, faithfulness of the Priest, 150 years of St. John Marie Vianney” edited by Rev Prof Lukwata launched by Archbishop Martin Kivuva of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa.
The book documents proceedings of the 12th Inter disciplinary Theological session of the Faculty of Theology held in 2010.
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