Ethiopia: Women as peers in pastoral care

In her academic work, Abebech Kussa - currently studying for a doctorate at the Mekane-Yesus Seminary in Ethiopia with the support of the ELM - emphasises the crucial role of well-trained staff in pastoral care for women.

In the example of Ethiopian women's exposure to harmful cultural practices, gender-based violence and domestic violence, it is clear that women are disproportionately challenged, which is why many seek pastoral counselling to better cope with their experiences ans challenges in daily live.
The relevant church staff are expected to provide the appropriate support.

Unfortunately, there are far fewer women than men in the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus who are trained to provide such counselling. This imbalance has serious consequences for how women's suffering is perceived and treated in counselling. Female counsellors are often better able to provide safe, empathetic and culturally sensitive care because of their own life experience. Counselling from woman to woman helps to address personal and painful issues in depth.

That is why Abebech Kussa is pleased that more than 100 women are currently studying theology at the Mekane-Yesus Seminary in Addis Ababa. This gives hope for the future and is an important step towards strengthening the qualified counselling work of women.

With your donation, you are supporting the training of well-trained employees for the work in the many rapidly growing congregations of the Ethiopian partner church.