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By Donald Theo-Harding
(Source- SALONE TIMES) – Kambia All Stars have clenched the final spot of the Program of Christian and Muslim Relations in Africa (PROCMURA) gala at the Kambia Resource Centre field in the Northern District of Kambia. The other participating teams were Kolenten FC, Great Scarcies Senior and Junior teams.
The main objective of the PROCMURA gala is to foster peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims in Africa.
At the opening match on Thursday, Great Scarcies Senior played against Kolenten FC. Before the match the players were admonished about the essence of the match.
Rev Henry Samuels, President of the Council of Churches Sierra Leone, told the players that everyone has a right to their religion or belief but that does not qualify them to become enemies if they do not belong to the same religion.
He said they should at all times live at peace with each other irrespective of the religion or faith they practice. The kick off was taken by the National Coordinator of PROCMURA, Rev. Christiana Sutton-Koroma. At the end of the match Great Scracies defeated Kolenten by six goals to two.
On the second day of the gala, Kambia All Stars locked horns with Great Scarcies Junior. The kick off of that match was done by Sheikh Ibrahim Sesay who prayed for peace to prevail in the country in general and Kambia District in particular.
He also emphasized the importance of Muslims and Christians to coexist among each other for the peace and betterment of the country.
He told players that both Islam and Christianity were religions of peace but man has taken upon himself to bring discord among and within these religions. At the end of the match, Kambia All Stars defeated Great Scarcies Junior by three goals to nil.
The final match on Saturday was between Great Scarcies and Kambia All Stars. The Kick off of that match was taken by the President of the Council of Churches Sierra Leone and member of PROCMURA, Rev Henry Samuels.
He applauded the teams for the sportsmanship displayed at the previous matches and encouraged them to continue in that spirit and with that they will learn to live at peace with each other which was the very reason why PROCMURA had engaged them. The match saw two female assistant referees officiating. It was an action-packed match as both teams seemed to be equally matched, fought hard to win the final sport. At the end of regulation time the teams ended at a stalemate of 0-0.
They went straight into penalties where All Stars scored four goals while Great Scarcies Senior managed to score three making All Stars winners of the tournament. Cash prizes were awarded to winners and officials by Bishop Arnold Temple, President of Africa All Council of Churches who was with the delegation.
Christians & Muslims Meet In Kambia For A Two-Day Freedom Of Religion Or Belief Workshop
The Program for Christian and Muslim Relations in Africa (PROCMURA) has held a two-day capacity building workshop on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FORB) at the Kambia District Resource Centre in Kambia.
The workshop which was held on Thursday and Friday 8th and 9th March 2023 brought together stakeholders from all walks of life and of different faiths throughout the district.
The inter-Christian and Muslim programmes are aimed at strengthening the capacity of Christian and Muslim religious leaders, women and youth to collaborate and cooperate to attend to issues of mutual concern.
The inter-Christian and Muslim programmes also bring together civil society, secular and state actors to attend to pertinent issues that affect the wider society and to which religion is sometimes implicated. The details of these programmes always come in a strategic plan informed by contemporary emerging issues that require a lot of attention.
Kambia was purposely chosen for this particular program due to religious conflict that ensued few years ago.
While welcoming participants at the opening ceremony, the National Coordinator of PROCMURA, Rev. Christiana Sutton Koroma said that it is the duty of religious leaders to intervene in times of crisis.
She said that even though Sierra Leone has been acclaimed nationwide for its religious tolerance, Kambia has been named in the latest religious conflict in the country which she said was all the more reason why they were in Gambia.
She highlighted the aims and objectives of the organization among which was to promote Christian constructive engagement with Muslims so that, together, members of the two communities can work towards the promotion of peace and peaceful coexistence, and embark on joint actions on issues that militate against the development of the society.
Rev. Samura Bangs, the representative from the Pentecostal Fellowship of Sierra Leone (PPSL) spoke about the advent of the missionaries where they met the people referring to God in their various languages.
He emphasized the importance of living at peace with one another and called on all to thieve to coexist.
Sheikh Ibrahim Sesay presented a paper on the perspective on Freedom of religion or belief while Rev Paul Kamanda dilated on the same for the Christian perspective. Other presentations included the situation analysis on FoRB from community, district, regional and national level perspective; FoRb as a Human Right, Constructive Christian/Muslim relations; A substantive mechanism for promoting FoRB and skills in promoting peaceful co-existence and countering fundamental radicalism and extremism through FoRB among others. Speakers also included representatives from ONS, Council of Imams, Police Partnership Board, Interreligious Council and CCSL.
The Media Officer and member of PROCMURA Donald Theo-Harding oversaw the plenary sessions in which participants looked at the following:
What needs to change in your country/society for everyone to enjoy freedom of religion or belief?
How do you intend to address FoRB violations in your society?
Who is your target group? Government, Religious Leaders, Community leaders?
How do you intend to work with women and youth?
How do you intend to pass on the knowledge you have acquired in this training?
What will you immediately do when you go back to your community as individuals and as a group?
Draw a one-year action plan to explain the above.
A football gala climaxed the end of the two-day program.
