Online Reporter
Andile Tshuma, Sunday News Reporter
CHURCHES in Bulawayo have joined hands to establish a humanitarian coordination centre to support Zimbabweans returning from South Africa, strengthening efforts to assist citizens affected by recent anti-migrant tensions and deportations.
The centre, housed at the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) in Bulawayo, will serve as a hub for faith-based organisations to coordinate humanitarian assistance, psychosocial support and community reintegration programmes for returnees.
The initiative brings together churches under the umbrella of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) in what leaders described as a coordinated response to growing humanitarian needs, complementing Government efforts already underway at border reception centres.
Speaking during the launch of the facility, UCCSA Zimbabwe Synod leader Reverend Sikhalo Cele said the coordination centre would improve collaboration among churches, humanitarian organisations and Government institutions involved in assisting returnees.
“We are happy that we have the space to shelter our beloved fellow countrymen and women who have had to make their way back home under these trying circumstances.
“We are doing our best to complement the work of the government in this exercise and we believe that as a church, it is our mandate to practice what we preach and live the gospel, as the oldest church and Christian mission in the country.
“However, this is not a UCCSA programme alone. It is an ecumenical response that brings churches together so that assistance is coordinated and reaches those who need it most. Together we can provide spiritual, emotional and practical support as families reintegrate into their communities,” he said.
Former Zimbabwe Council of Churches president, Bishop Lazarus Khanye, said the Church had a moral responsibility to stand with vulnerable Zimbabweans during difficult times.
“The Church cannot remain on the sidelines when families are returning home distressed and uncertain about their future.
“This is a humanitarian issue that calls for compassion, unity and practical support. We are complementing Government efforts by mobilising churches to provide care, hope and dignity to those returning home,” he said.
Bishop Khanye said the initiative demonstrated the Church’s commitment to promoting safe migration, discouraging irregular migration and helping returnees rebuild their lives through community support.
The church-led intervention complements Government’s broader humanitarian response, which includes reception centres at the Beitbridge and Plumtree border posts where returnees receive registration, meals, health screening, hygiene packs, psychosocial support and transport to their respective home districts.
Authorities are also facilitating the replacement of lost or expired national identity documents to enable returnees to access essential public services and reintegrate into society.
Beyond immediate humanitarian relief, churches say they will continue raising awareness on safe migration while supporting livelihood initiatives aimed at addressing some of the socio-economic factors that drive irregular migration.
Meanwhile, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, through the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), has intensified humanitarian interventions for displaced Zimbabweans.
In South Africa, ADRA South Africa, in partnership with the Reality 7 Foundation, recently conducted a joint needs assessment among displaced Zimbabweans in Cape Town to identify urgent humanitarian needs, particularly among women, new-born babies and young children affected by the crisis.
In Zimbabwe, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is working with partners and local congregations to mobilise relief assistance and community support for returnees as part of the broader faith-based humanitarian response.
Church leaders said the growing collaboration among denominations reflected a shared commitment to ensuring that returning Zimbabweans are welcomed with dignity while complementing Government’s ongoing reintegration efforts.
