23rd February 2022
The Globethics.net East Africa regional office and the Ethiopia African Church Assets Programme (ACAP IV) consultant Mr Metewos Tera organised and held a workshop on 14th and 15th February 2022 for Churches and Church Related Organisations (CCROs) to discuss, validate and improve on the draft National Guidelines on Ethical Investment for CCROs in Ethiopia.
Held at the Adama Executive Hotel in Adama City in Ethiopia, the workshop was attended by participants from various sectors including Churches, Church Related Organisations (CROs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Government.
Preacher Pastor Desalegn Abebe Ejo started the two-day event started with a biblical reflection entitled “Christian Attitude towards Wealth and Ethical Challenges”, reminding those present of the need to use resources wisely, share them with the needy around us and work towards a fair distribution of those resources.
In his greetings, Globethics.net Executive Director Msgr. Prof. Francis Obiora Ike, who was present at the event, noted that this world is a place where resources are shared, something that Globethics.net tries to pursue and promote through our sharing of educational resources, including through our Library and Academy.
He equally noted that the preacher spoke about looking at resources as a gift. The African continent has huge resources, said Prof. Obiora, and yet is always described as poor. He posed a question, “Why is it that those who are rich are described as poor?”, arguing that through ethical investment and management of resources, there is an opportunity for growth. It is for this reason, he said, that Globethics.net has for some years endeavoured to engage the leadership of the African people, namely religious and traditional leaders, with a view to discussing critical issues and ways of banishing poverty.
During the course of ACAP IV, others who passed their greetings included Dr Nigussu Legesse the Executive Director of the Consortium of Christian Relief and Development (CCRDA) and Fredrick Olweny of CORAT who were present. Dr Bright Mawudor, the Deputy Secretary-General of All Africa Conference of Churches, Deputy Executive Director of Globethics.net Lucy Howe Lopez, and Christine Housel of Globethics.net also joined online from Kenya and Geneva respectively.
Bread for the World (BftW) Regional Representative in Addis Ababa Christoph Schneider-Yattara also sent his greetings, which were read on his behalf by Tsion Ashebir of Bread for the World. In his message, Christoph also passed the greeting of Bread for the World President, Rev. Dr. Dagmar Prün, the team at the regional office in Addis, and their colleagues at the Berlin head office. He emphasised that BftW is proud to partner with Globethics.net and CCRDA to support the capacity development of CSOs and FBOs.
