Faith as a duty to help those in need

Abba Uqbagabher, General Secretary of the Eritrean Bishops Conference

Abba Uqbagabher, General Secretary of the Eritrean Bishops Conference, tells of the struggle the church faced to operate in the country after independence

The Catholic Church first began running social and humanitarian projects in Eritrea in 1964, building homes, hospitals, clinics and schools.

But following independence in 1991, the Eritrean government established a new decree, which nationalised much of the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

“The situation for faith-based organisations was particularly difficult during this time,” says Abba.

“The Catholic and evangelical churches have been most active in development despite restrictions under the new legislation.

“The churches and mosques were told to limit themselves to spiritual matters. Emergencies and other activities were seen as the responsibility of the government,” Abba explains.

The Bishops responded by saying that the Church has a duty and a responsibility to help people in need and that their work should not be restricted. Since then working relations between the Church and government have improved.

The Catholic Secretariat sent funding for feeding programmes, water, livestock, medicine for clinics and to provide special care for those affected by HIV and AIDS.

Women promotion centres were set up to help them upgrade their skills as women were often marginalised in terms of training.

“There are now few international NGOs Eritrea”, says Abba. “But the Catholic Church is still working closely with those which remain and with the government branch offices.

“We have a good relationship with the Ministry of Health and are invited to workshops and training. The Ministry of Education we deal with more at regional level.”

The Eritrean Bishops and Ethiopian Bishops belong to one Episcopal Conference, which has been divided by the war between the two countries. Nevertheless they try to meet as a conference at least once a year, to maintain unity.

CAFOD’s help is channelled through the Eritrea Catholic Secretariat (ECS), which runs 55 schools, 20 clinics and health stations, 48 women’s promotion centres and 44 kindergartens as well as emergency activities in the regions of Asmara, Karen and Barentu.

Many people left Ethiopia and Eritrea fleeing wars, drought and famine in the 1960s and 1980s and are now living in Sudan and other neighbouring countries as well as further afield in Europe.

“We have the same culture, language and way of living”, says Abba “The war between our two countries is just a temporary problem.

“We bring people from our two countries together.”

The Bishops work to promote peace between people in the two countries and between Christians and non-Christians, as well as appointing two Bishops, one Ethiopian and one Eritrean, to promote understanding amid those now living overseas.

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