Latest News #228 - Zimbabwe
January 17, 2003

The following news concerns Zimbabwe.

Half a million Zimbabwe famine victims to receive Scriptures

HARARE, Zimbabwe — As Zimbabwe sinks deeper into despair because of the famine threatening more than six million lives, the Bible Society of Zimbabwe (BSZ) has begun distributing Scriptures to people receiving food aid.

Through the project, named Operation Joseph, 10,000 copies of the Joseph New Reader Portion were distributed last month by humanitarian agency Christian Care. The agency is working with churches and the World Food Programme to bring food relief to people in the worst hit areas. A further 526,000 copies of the Portion are to be printed and distributed in the same way with funding provided by EO-Metterdaad, a Christian aid organisation based in The Netherlands.

“We are grateful to God for his faithfulness to us in an environment that has become difficult and volatile,” said BSZ General Secretary Edward Mutema. “Without EO-Metterdaad’s gift we would not have been able to go ahead with the printing of these further copies. They heard about Operation Joseph through Latest News from UBS (see Latest News 205 and 210) and contacted us directly. The US$40,000 they have given us will allow us to begin printing immediately.”

Mr Mutema added that the Portion, which will be printed in Ndebele and Shona, will help to remind Zimbabweans that “God has not forgotten us and that he will heal our land.”

Zimbabwe, once one of the most prosperous countries in Africa, now has one of the world’s fastest-shrinking economies. Formerly known as the breadbasket of southern Africa, half its population is facing starvation due to a severe drought exacerbated by the government’s controversial agricultural policies.

The country has also been racked by political violence and unrest, which has caused deep divisions between communities. The Bible Society is planning to address this issue through the distribution next month of 150,000 copies of a Scripture Selection about reconciliation. Entitled Who Is My Neighbour?, the Selection encourages readers to “do good to everyone regardless of their status, race, colour or creed”.

A severe fuel shortage, which has crippled many industries, is yet another challenge facing Bible work in Zimbabwe.

“The fuel shortage is now so bad that it is basically dictating our program,” commented Mr Mutema. “We can no longer reach remote communities, for instance, the Tonga people in Binga. We are running a program there but we cannot go and monitor it.”