Shakira Pilirani Chimbaza/Malawi
Shakira Pilirani Chimbaza works as a coordinator for emergency programmes and projects in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi. There the 40-year-old is responsible for disaster response, is involved in activities relating to the nutrition centre, and also works in the communications department when required.
She holds a Diploma in Journalism and Media Studies (Polytechnic Centre for Continuity Education, 2014), a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication (Share World Open University, 2023) and a Diploma in Journalism (Central Executive College, 2003). She is also the 2012 Overall Winner & Investigative Journalist of the Year of the Annual Media Awards-Media Institute for Southern Africa.
Professionally, she brings experience in project management in media and communications, water, hygiene and sanitation programmes, project planning, disaster management and preparedness, stakeholder management, monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
Why is the ELM important to you/your church?
Evangelical Lutheran Mission (ELM) is a partner that is of great importance both for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi and for me as an employee of ELCM. ELM has been changing people’s lives economically and socially through various programs and projects of ELCM. The partnership between ELM and ELCM has led to more knowledge and diversity in the implementation of the various ELCM projects.
What role does ELM play for you as a "partner in mission"?
Furthermore, the ELM as a mission partner has helped me as an individual and other Lutheran members in Malawi including the youth to grow spiritually by supporting mission work. Youth take a leading role in church activities through their mission work and training, which is a testimony to the important role that the ELM plays as a partner of the ELCM through various projects. This partnership is yielding positive results not only among Lutherans but also among non-Lutherans. A good example is a non-Lutheran orphan who benefits from a Lutheran scholarship supported by the ELM and who will be an important pillar of Malawi society in the future.
Has there been a particular event in your church that was influenced by ELM?
The PeacePlace2GO-Camp 2023, held at e-mseni Christian centre in Johannesburg, South Africa from April 14th to 21st tackled the theme “Un-learn poverty – let education drive peace and justice." Two representatives from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi took part, and it was one of the special events for our church because the learning done there was spread throughout the congregations of ELCM.
The meeting, which was led by two main facilitators from ELM, Hannah Rose and Ingrid Lüdeman, inspired me very much. The different speakers who shared their experiences on education, poverty, peace and justice, such as the JET Education presentation by Rachel Neville (whose main topic was on Early Childhood Development) and Biblical input by Rev. Rosalie Madika were very important and an eye opener for me as I looked at how my church can change things for the better in the modern world.
For the first time I had a chance of visiting other two remarkable places;
- Hillbrow Outreach Foundation, Skills Development & Training Centre where a number of activities such as tailoring and designing, music, cookery, modern farming technologies, plumbing, cosmetics and pottery take place. The way they uplift lives of the youths economically is something that ELCM as a partner also learnt a lot about in dealing with the youth, and we, too are concerned about issues related to their socio-economic empowerment.
- Visit to Soweto area (Mandela House, Desmond Tutu House, and Hector Pieterson Museum) and learning about South African history.
On proposal development I was delighted when the two facilitators highlighted how to come up with simple and straight forward proposal to our partners.
The meeting was very important for me as it opened my eyes to developing proposals and I learned different skills in different areas from other churches. This, in turn, helped shapr our discussion about ideas of how we can deal with poverty such that education can drive peace and justice, leading to economic empowerment.
What do you hope ELM will do for your church in the future?
I will appreciate it if the mission organization continues to provide support through different projects and continues sharpening my own and others' skills for the better growth of the church and so that youth are socio-economically empowered and can stand on their own.
As a person I would like the mission organization to get involved by providing training through the capacity building of staff as well as coordinating the sharing of successful stories with other church members through international trainings.
