Why PECAN?
The era of huge Christian medical works has passed. Most
mission hospitals are now state owned and run, for better or
worse. Christian interventions tend to be small, at the
grass-roots level, but nevertheless vital.
Meanwhile, as the tide of the AIDS
pandemic rises, resource flow are increasing and it is hard
for small groups to engage with the macro-funding
available. Bonding together in networks, coalitions or
consortia is one strategy to engage resource groups at a
higher level.
However, many existing networks are not
"operational" as such, but rather set up to share
information and coordinate interventions. PECAN is set up
first and foremost to be a conduit of resources - from
sources in Canada to Christian groups working in the east
coast region of southern Africa. This covers an area from
the eastern cape to northern Mozambique. Where the waters
flow to the Indian ocean below the equator.
There is also a lot to be gained by
fellowship and sharing – comparing different approaches, as
iron sharpens iron. Thus it is important to include several
countries as well as a diversity of cultures and
denominations.
Last but not least, this link-up of
different ministries offers the opportunity to widen our
horizons, by "scoping" all that is being done, variously, by
Christian groups. For according to best practice, each
group should have a focus or mission, and therefore not try
to cover all the bases. However, as the body of Christ, it
is important to offer a comprehensive solution.
Thus PECAN is an attempt to become a kind
of template. Then it can reflect back to the wider
Christian community, in different settings, what the "gold
standards" are. Each locality can thus ask itself, do we
have all the elements of this comprehensive solution to the
full range of AIDS-related needs? (e.g. prevention,
care/support and after-effects)
This PECAN template can also serve to
imprint on the consciousness of Canadians what the needs in
Africa are, and thus how to engage – as never before - with
the biggest disaster to strike planet earth since Noah's
flood...
So PECAN is about resourcing the church for action - not
just in the sense of tapping resources from Canada, but in
terms of defining the terms of engagement with this slow
onset disaster that threatens Africa and thus the whole
world.
