Blog Posts
Regional Interfaith Dialogue: What does your faith say about advocating for environmental justice?
Faith Leaders at the final Regional Interfaith Dialogue for 2022 described environmental advocacy as “God’s own initiative” because we are created in God’s image and tasked by God with looking after His Creation. We asked faith leaders at the sixth Regional Interfaith Dialogue for 2022: What does your faith say about environmental advocacy? The topic was linked to three United Nations special days in December: International Soil Day on the 5th, International Human Rights Day on 10th and...
Green Action Week: Seed Swop 2022
Nirmala Nair, a seed expert who had been a guest speaker at SAFCEI’s inaugural event in 2005, was the guest speaker for our Seed Swap event at Ocean View Organic Farms on Friday 2 December 2022. The Spontaneous Seed Swap event was organised as part of Green Action Week 2022. We specifically invited faith leaders who have shown interest in or have already created their own food gardens. Nirmala told us about how some plants love to be together in the garden, and about how each garden is a...
OWA Africa Summit to end cages 2022
The Open Wing Alliance (OWA) hosts a regional summit each year for regional partners working on cage-free campaigns to meet and connect. This year, the OWA Africa Summit was hosted in Cape Town from 29 November to 1 December 2022. At this summit, we shared the successes and challenges we have encountered this year and discussed the Pick n Pay campaign launched during the summit. OWA Africa members have been in communication with Pick n Pay for several years to make a cage-free commitment by...
A story of forgiveness and healing
By Rev Berry Behr Pastor Khawulezile Msele runs an independent church in Khayelitsha, where he feeds more than 50 people three times a week from his premises. Twice, his humble church constructed in informal settlements has been vandalised and destroyed. Now, he has turned his home into a church, and from there he continues to run his soup kitchen and conduct services for his community. SAFCEI had the opportunity to visit Pastor Msele on Tuesday 29 November, and to learn a little more about...
FLEAT TANZANIA FAITH LEADER PROFILE
Introducing Monica Daniel Nakei, a Roman Catholic faith leader from our FLEAT Tanzania group, who is passionate about agriculture and farming. Monica is an Assistant Lecturer at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Morogoro, Tanzania, and currently a PhD student in Life Sciences, specializing in Sustainable Agriculture at Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) in Arusha, Tanzania. Monica works as an Agronomist, Soil Scientist, Sustainable Agriculture...
FLEAT Tanzania
The newly selected FLEAT Tanzania cohort came together at The Luther House in Dar es Salaam on 25-27 October with 23 faith leaders, 11 men and 12 women, from all regions of Tanzania. The group represented the Christian and Muslim faiths. Some faith leaders travelled 17 hours by bus to participate in FLEAT. The three days covered topics such as Food and the effects of climate change, loss of indigenous foods, climate grief and energy justice, specifically nuclear in Africa. Our guest...
NUKES ADVOCACY FAITH LEADERS GO TO PARLIAMENT
On 1 November 2022, twenty faith leaders from around South Africa gathered to deepen their knowledge and experience in eco advocacy. This was the third time the group had gathered in 2022, and everyone was excited to learn how the training would unfold. The series of workshops is a collaboration between Safcei and The Green Connection, inspired by the successful opposition to the South Africa-Russia nuclear deal by Liziwe McDaid and Makoma Lekalakala of Earthlife Africa. The focus of the...
FLEAT TANZANIA FAITH LEADER PROFILE
Introducing Newton Mwakabambo, a member of our Faith Leader Environmental Advocacy Training (FLEAT) Tanzania who represents the Moravian faith. Newton is a founder of EnviCulture (Kyela Envirocare and Cultural Tourism) an NGO in Tanzania, Mbeya region, Kyela district. The NGO focuses on Environmental Conservation and Cultural Tourism in and around Kyela, enriching the village livelihoods with profit, and making a living from the natural resources that are available in the region. Newton...
FLEAT ZIMBABWE FAITH LEADERS CONDUCT ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS TRAINING AND CLEANUP CAMPAIGN IN BINDURA
In a bid to promote sustainable consumption, as part of the global Green Action Week campaign, FLEAT- ZIM Trust partnered with the Bindura University of Science Education- Building Opportunities On Student Talent (BUSE-BOOST) club to conduct an environmental awareness training and clean-up campaign on 21 October 2022. The workshop and training involved 52 faith student leadership (26 men and 27 women) from Bindura University of Science Education Christian Ecumenical Society (BUSCES)....
Regional Interfaith Dialogue: What does your faith say about the commoditisation of food?
SAFCEI’s Regional Interfaith Dialogue on 17 October was an exciting, collaborative grappling with aspects of food security that relate to practical ways in which humans express the teachings of their faiths. We asked: What does your faith say about the commoditisation of food? The question stemmed from two UN special days: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and International Food Day, both falling on 16 October. These reflect the first two of the Sustainable Development Goals –...
