Programme
The Masibambisane ngokholo Programme is a collaboration between the Centre for Black Thought and African Studies of the Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary and the Foundation for Human Rights. The purpose of the programme is to use innovative community-based models on addressing GBVF by infusing a rights-based approach based on participation, accountability, non-discrimination, empowerment and legislation that protects rights of the vulnerable to create a platform for government, civil society and other relevant stakeholders to engage in dialogue about gender-based violence and femicide. The programme seeks to create an awareness platform for dialogue among Christian religious leaders and faith communities focusing on human rights-based approaches to addressing gender-based violence and femicide. The programme, further, seeks to provide support for local congregations in establishing initiatives that respond to GBVF.​
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Objectives
The programme is rolled out in five congregations (sites) of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. These congregations are led by ministers who have been trained at the Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary. This programme, emerging from the dialogue hosted by the Centre, is geared towards assisting faith-leaders and faith-communities in helping them create and maintain GBVF initiative through their congregations or community of faith. The programme seeks to offer an advisory role to congregations that have established some small-scale initiatives in response to GBVF.
The programme objectives are as follows:
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Identify and capacitate congregants to lead the initiation of GBVF programmes within local churches.
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Supporting 5 local congregations in development and implementation of their GBVF Programme.
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Resourcing local congregations to be nodes of information related to GBVF in their communities.
The Masibambisane NgoKholo GBVF programme is supported through the funding of the European Union through the Foundation for human rights
