Support for Dr. Mukwege’s foundation – Panzi Hospital
Lutheran World Information – The Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (ECCB), which is a member church of the LWF in the Czech Republic, has raised a sum of money for the Panzi Foundation, which supports medical treatment for women who have suffered rape in the DR Congo.
The synod of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren was prompted to make this kind of donation by Dr. Mukwege’s address during the Twelfth LWF Assembly in May 2017, in which Dr. Mukwege spoke about sexual violence.
An impressive message to the women of the DR Congo: half a million Czech crowns (about EUR 18,000) was donated after the synod council of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren announced a special fundraising initiative for the Panzi Foundation last September. The donations collected will be passed on to the hospital founded by Dr. Denis Mukwege, doctor of medicine and advocate against gender-based violence in the DR Congo.
“Rape is used in Congo as a weapon of war, and it is extremely devastating (destructive). The aim of rape is not to satisfy sexual desires, but to criminalize women, which causes the disintegration of entire communities in which women are often the main economic force. The victims are not only adult women (young or old), but also girls, including infants,” states a statement by the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren.
Members of the synodal council of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (ECCB). Photo: ECCB
LWF Council member Olga Navrátilová was a delegate of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren at the LWF Assembly in Windhoek, where Dr. Mukwege delivered the keynote message on sexual violence and the situation in the DRC during the Twelfth LWF Assembly in Windhoek, Namibia, in May 2017. “I was shaken after Dr. Denis Mukwege’s address,” she said. “After my report was read, the general assembly of the synodal council of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren decided to start raising funds within the church to support the work of Panzi Hospital.”
The aim of the fundraising was not only to attract money, but also to raise awareness of the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The sum of EUR 18,000 raised has exceeded what was hoped for. /Olga Navrátilová, LWF delegate and LWF Council member from the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren/
“The aim of the fundraising was not only to attract money, but also to raise awareness of the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” she added. “The sum of EUR 18,000 raised has exceeded our expectations.” The ECCB has nearly 80,000 church members.
“It is our task, as heirs of Martin Luther, to drive out with the Word of God all the macho demons that have possessed the world, so that women who are victims of men’s barbarism may experience God’s reign in their lives,” Mukwege said in his address to the LWF Assembly on 11 May.
“I am convinced that I will find in you attentive ears and faithful mouths that will make the cries of women who have suffered sexual violence heard, so that the criminals who have committed crimes against women, who are now victims of sexual violence, will never again escape punishment,” he added.
Source: Lutheran World Federation PRAGUE, Czech Republic / Geneva
26.01.2018.