Focus more on building capacity of members - Churches admonished

Churches have been urged to take a keen interest in eradicating poverty among church members by building their capacity. A Social Work lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Frimpong Manso said through the support churches would offer their members, they are helping to prevent poverty. This he said would contribute to taking many children from the streets. Professor Manso made the statement at the opening and dedication of a new office of the International Christian Cooperative Ministries (ICCM) in Accra. The ICCM is a Christian missions-oriented non-governmental organization seeking to provide assistance to disadvantaged persons in society through advocacy, training, counseling, mentorship, discipleship, and provision of physical and spiritual needs among others. The Christian organization also reaches out to prison inmates through their activities. Whiles applauding the efforts of ICCM in building the capacity of the underprivileged, Mr. Manso indicated that the key solution to tackling poverty is through prevention of which the church has a critical role to play and therefore they should rather place emphasis on human development than investing in church auditoriums. “One of the things we have been talking about a lot is ‘ubuntu’. We as a people have a role to play firstly in preventing a lot of things that affect children, the aged, and even persons with physical and mental disabilities. Even now, there are some aged people who are begging on the streets. The community has a role to play and the church also has a role to play. Most of the time these days, most of the churches are focused on the church buildings rather than doing the actual Godly work. Some of the churches will tell you they are building a chapel so they cannot help you. It is something I have witnessed. The church has a role to play in taking care of the vulnerable. Let’s all support the work of the ICCM in every possible way we can,” he rallied. The Founder of the International Christian Cooperative Ministries, David Ofosuhene said the new facility would help deepen the work of the ICCM in supporting the disadvantaged in society within its catchment areas. “Currently we have not started any skills training program but the facility has enough spaces to allow us to hold training programs in carpentry, and dressmaking among others. The spaces are there for training purposes so we are going to look at it to start some training programs,” he said. The dedication of the building brought together friends and donors of the ICCM. The non-governmental organization was established in 1990 in a garage. The new facility has a stocked library, a Conference room, and some offices. Currently, the organization has its presence in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Eastern Regions. The ICCM partners with individuals, philanthropists, churches, communities, businesses and donors to provide services that meet the needs of the underprivileged including the physically and mentally challenged persons.