Source: Chief Secretary spearheads church construction in rural home – herald
Farai Dauramanzi in Chiwara, Gutu
Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Martin Rushwaya is spearheading the construction of a 500‑seater church building for the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe’s Vumba congregation in Chiwara, Gutu.
The project forms part of the RCZ’s rural congregations upliftment drive, being undertaken by a group of volunteers from within the church. The group comprises businesspeople and professionals from the church’s congregations in Harare, with Dr Rushwaya and his wife serving as advisers.
Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony yesterday, Dr Rushwaya, who was the guest of honour, said that through the assistance of well-wishers, they had sourced all the building materials for the 500-seater church, which is expected to cost more than US$100 000.
“When I come here, I attend this church despite the cracks on its walls. Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo — the church is built by its members,” he said.
“We have been undertaking developmental projects in RCZ congregations, including Seke East, Nerupiri, Mandara and Hwange, among others.
“That is our way of spreading the gospel.
“I spoke to my friends and they are helping us source all the required materials. Construction should start next month and we hope to finish by the end of the year.”
The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by more than 10 RCZ pastors from across the country, as well as congregants from Seke East, Masvingo, Kwekwe and the local area.
One of the guests at the event, Engineer Tinayeshe Mutazu, Chief Director of Water Resources, Irrigation Development and National WASH Coordination in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, said he was encouraged by the community development at Vumba.
“As a congregant of the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe, I am excited that we are coming back home and interacting with our communities.
“This effort also aligns with the Government’s thrust to ensure that no place is left behind. These rural communities have lagged over the years in terms of water supply, power and other services.
“You can see the church infrastructure itself is dilapidated; it has seen better days. But when we come down here, as we have done today, we feel very encouraged that we are moving in a direction that will set our rural communities on a development path,” said Eng Mutazu.
The coordinator of the rural congregations programme, Mr Tsungirirai Jeche from the RCZ Seke East congregation, thanked Dr Rushwaya for playing a pivotal role in the upliftment of the church’s rural congregations.
“We launched this programme at Nerupiri in Gutu, then went to the Mandara congregation in Bikita. We started organising today’s programme last year in October and we are happy that it was a success.
“This programme is transforming lives and my hope is that it continues so that it covers many other rural congregations.
“I want to thank President Mnangagwa for introducing the ‘leaving no one and no place behind’ policy, which has brought us to where we are now,” said Mr Jeche.
Resident pastor at RCZ Vumba congregation, Reverend Ernie Marume, expressed gratitude for the gesture, saying it will make life easier for clergy serving in rural areas.
“I am grateful to the group of volunteers supporting rural congregations and to our church member Dr Rushwaya.
“Life is very hard for pastors in rural areas and it is good to see church members remembering where they came from.”
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