Cradling Abundance by Elsie Tshimunyi McKee & Monique Misenga Ngoie Mukuna

Author:Elsie Tshimunyi McKee & Monique Misenga Ngoie Mukuna
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography;autobiography;memoir;Majority World;African women;Democratic Republic of Congo;women in Africa;African nonprofit;maman Monique;women church leaders in Africa;women leaders in the majority world;female empowerment;leadership;sexism;violence against women;rape;poverty;microfinance;nonprofit;community;ancestry;war;Zaire;ecumenical;World Council of Churches;patriarchy;African matriarch;Femme Berceau de l'Abondance;Woman Cradle of Abundance
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2021-06-01T10:45:40+00:00

10

Consciousness-Raising

The Founding of Woman, Cradle of Abundance / FEBA

SINGING AND DRUMMING start the gathering, and Maman Mianda dances as the monthly meeting begins. Ululating voices carry the exultant sound of praise to God. A member of the congregation prays spontaneously, passionately, and all say “Amen.” There is more singing. Then Maman Mianda reads the Scripture, and I begin to preach on Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). What Mary chose was essential: listening to Jesus, staying close to him, having the gospel transform her life. But Martha’s work was necessary also: the hungry must be fed, and children and widows must be cared for; there are many tasks to do to serve God’s people. We must cling to Jesus for our hope and joy and abundant life, and we must also use our gifts to serve God faithfully and share life abundant with others. After the teaching, each person comes forward with singing and drumming to bring her “least coin” to contribute to the ministry of helping other women.

Worship and fellowship overflowing into education and action: this perspective of wholeness characterizes our nonprofit. Woman, Cradle of Abundance / Femme, Berceau de l’Abondance (FEBA for short), began as a movement, an ecumenical women’s movement. We would come together to pray and hear inspiring lectures on different issues to educate women; it was a kind of consciousness-raising. But the women brought their practical problems, and that revealed other needs. So we transformed our organization into a nonprofit to seek means to support the women in their poverty of all kinds. At first we focused on practical forms of work that would complement what our church programs were already doing. When we began the second phase of FEBA in 2010, we expanded to meet other unmet needs.

Meeting with women from around the world in Harare, seeing how other African women organized nonprofits, gave those of us from the D. R. Congo a new vision. Each of us was already active in her own way and through her church, but we realized that we could do much more if we had an independent organization. And so, despite resistance, we set about creating one.

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