OMI ZAMBIA SETS UP A JPIC OFFICE

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Zambia Delegation Council resolved to set up a Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) desk at the Administration office in Lusaka . This was during the council meeting of March, 2007. The goal of the office will be to coordinate activities of JPIC in all Oblate Units. Currently, there is a structure in place that deals with issues of Justice and Peace in all Oblate parishes in the Western Province.

This is under the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC)’s Catholic Commission for Justice Development and Peace (CCJDP), which coordinates such activities in Zambia . Though there is a difference in terminology, JPIC and CCJDP have the same objectives therefore Oblates will collaborate and work together with the vision of the CCJDP in Zambia .

Oblates have been vigorous in setting up and strengthening the activities of the CCJDP in all their Units.JPIC will carry the OMI mandate from the Acts of the 34th General Chapter of the Missionary Oblates of 2004, which states: “Oblate Units develop a program of community life, formation, and ministry that will promote Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation.”

The Oblate Chapter further mentions that, “Oblates will live values of JPIC in our own personal lives, integrating all our various daily activities towards making an important contribution to the construction of a more just society.” The Chapter also challenges Oblates to help form people towards making an impact in the areas of politics, public policy, and decision-making. We hope that through this newsletter, we will be able to share the activities of the Oblates in the areas of Justice and Peace and Integrity of Creation.

We felt that JPIC other than CCJDP terminology will be more appropriate in our parishes because the United States Oblate Province , to whom we belong, has a similar department. This will help us coordinate our activities better with the Province. However, activities and people involved in this grouping have not changed.

WORLD AIDS DAY 2008

Message on the occasion of World AIDS Day
1 December 2008
Dr Peter Piot

Executive Director of UNAIDS

This 20th World AIDS Day provides opportunities for both celebration and concern. Celebration because worldwide, fewer people are being infected with HIV and fewer people are dying from AIDS. Finally, Presidents and prime ministers, doctors and lawyers, scientists and schoolteachers, chief executives and trade union leaders, religious groups and communities, and – critically – people living with HIV, are coming together in a brilliant coalition that has proved that, with clear targets and strong commitment, we can move mountains.

Over the past five years, close to four million people in developing countries have started to take lifesaving antiretroviral drugs; drugs that didn’t even exist back in 1988 when we marked the first World AIDS Day. At the same time, HIV-prevention programmes have begun to make their mark, with less people becoming infected. Some countries are taking bold steps to meet the real needs of injecting drug users, men who have sex with men, sex workers, migrants, and other so called “hard to reach” groups.

But many more mountains remain to be moved. Let’s not forget that AIDS is not over anywhere. Indeed, on World AIDS Day 2008, there are as many reasons for concern as for celebration. First because we have to find ways to sustain what has been started, to maintain the momentum at a time of a major economic and financial crisis. Second because what we’re doing still isn’t anywhere near enough – in terms of both HIV prevention and treatment. Third because it is increasingly clear that AIDS is a complex, long wave event that also requires a long-term response – including action to secure human rights, eliminate gender inequalities, and strengthen health and social systems.

Twenty years ago, some ten million people were living with HIV. Since then, the epidemic has more than tripled in size. And it is still growing. For every two people who start taking treatment today, another five become newly infected. So instead of getting shorter, the queues of people requiring antiretroviral therapy are getting longer and longer. There is thus as real and urgent a need as ever for a brilliant and diverse coalition that is ready to lead and deliver on AIDS.

At the end of this year, I will leave UNAIDS. It’s the end of my term. But before I go, I want to thank all of you for your hard work and activism, for your support, and to also reaffirm my personal commitment to remain part of the brilliant coalition. The epidemic is far from over, but together we can make a real difference. We’ve started now to save lives but we need to save many more.
UNITING THE WORLD AGAINST AIDS

COMMERCIAL TREE CUTTING IN LUKULU, ZAMBIA: A CALL TO CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

A land without trees becomes susceptible to droughts that in turn create deserts. The Western Province area (and Lukulu district in particular) is a semi-desert, an extension of the Kalahari desert , which need plantations of more trees. Cutting down of trees on a commercial scale, is more likely to impact on the environment negatively in this area and it would be catastrophic in years to come.

The Government of Zambia has awarded concession licenses to Easi-Build Zambia Limited and Zambezi Hardwood to exploit the forest in Lukulu. These companies will be trading in selected trees, such as Muzauli and Mukwa. Even though the two companies have already started cutting down trees, several fundamental considerations need to be observed. The companies have the responsibility to cultivate a nursery of trees and plant two trees for every tree cut down.

However, for Mukwa and Muzauli trees, it takes an average of a hundred years to grow to maturity. Are these companies going to replace the same species of the trees lost? We have to realize that forests are an integral part of the eco-system and hence the need to be protected by all means. They produce economic income means for the local population. It is for this reason that the two companies have a responsibility to the environment and the people living within the selected forest reserves.

The question that must be in the minds of every Lukulu resident is whether government and the forest department carried out an environmental assessment to find out the impact that it will have on the forest and indeed the environment? Lukulu district has no proper road network, with the heavy load of trucks transporting wood, the already bad state of Lukulu road will continue to deteriorate further. Will these companies be responsible for the maintenance and repair of the road as a result of the heavy traffic? We have seen in the past that most of the companies operate on the principle of “maximizing profits and minimizing costs.”

As of now, the forest department in Lukulu does not have a vehicle to carry out any monitoring exercises on the activities of the companies. How does the government make the companies accountable if they have no means of monitoring the activities? Trees are natural resources of Lukulu district; as a result these resources have to benefit the people of Lukulu. It is for this reason that this needs assessment be carried out, to find out what the local population will benefit from these resources. So far the companies have made promises of renovating some schools, but nothing substantial is being done on the ground.

JPIC would like to urge the people of Lukulu to call upon Easi-Build Zambia Limited and Zambezi Hardwood to be responsible, transparent and accountable for their actions in the district. This is because they have the duty to protect the environment and plough back into the local community in terms of infrastructure development.

We (JPIC) have also called upon the members of parliament for both Lukulu East and Lukulu West to monitor the activities of the two companies.

(OMI JPIC NEWSLETTER- APRIL 2007)