ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE – A QUESTION OF SURVIVAL
The 2019 ACT Ubumbano Solidarity Hub took place on 21-23 May in Johannesburg. 67 participants from community organisations, NGOs, FBOs and churches of which three of them were from the Anglican Church of Southern Africa namely : Bishop Ossie Swartz from diocese of Kimberly and Kuruman, Lay Canon Daniella from the diocese of Natal and Mr. Bino Makhalanyane from the Green Anglicans Movement, under the theme “Environmental Justice – a Question of Survival.” Maranda St John, from Diocese of Oxford, which is twinned with Kimberley and Kuruman also attended.
The Hub started with a reflection on environmental injustices taking place in different communities and how this affected all even in our specialized groupings be it youth activism to women and gender, we are all affected by injustice brought by the subject. During our time together we where made to deeply reflect on how we are ministering to those whom we lead and also looked into things we should let go of in order for our movements to keep growing and never loss its relevance, as the Hub takes a deliberate approach of “focusing a solid amount of time on reflection than just talking about what we do.”
Both Bino and Bishop Ossie were in the young peoples group which said in order for young people to be more actively involved in the subject matter , we need to create a visual picture of what the future can look like if we are all involved and these we can do by creating spaces where young people are educated on the effects of environmental degradation , share positive stories of what others are doing and create positive role models.
The church has many focus areas but after attending the Hub one has learnt that our work overlaps and we need to find space to work together in fighting the injustices of these world.
Bino Makhalanyane