Wednesday, March 4, 2009

SOUTH AFRICA: Archbishop visits storm-drenched communities, pledges support


Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town has visited scenes of flooding in Soweto, and sent messages of support to areas of KwaZulu Natal where heavy storms have caused fatalities and mass destruction.
Makgoba, primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, said he was shocked at the scale of the damage, and assured those he met of his prayers and the support of the Anglican church, including financial aid through its relief and social development organization, Hope Africa.

The archbishop spoke of the need for greater sensitivity to the environment, at every level from national government to local community planning, pointing out that many factors from the disappearance of wetlands to the concentrations of urban developments can contribute to greatly increased risks of flooding, even from normal volumes of rainfall. He added that human responsibility -- "a God-given gift, which we must choose to use wisely" -- was relevant in South Africa too, and not only in the wider problem of global warming and climate change.

http://www.episcopal-life.org/81808_105549_ENG_HTM.htm

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