2008 Courageous Leadership Award

A few hours ago I received a phone call from Chicago. Our church had been chosen, together with two others (whose names I do not know) as the finalists for the 2008 Courageous Leadership Award presented by Willow Creek Association together with World Vision. Last year, the first time that this award was presented to churches impacting communities suffering from HIV and AIDS, we received an honorary award for the work the people in Swaziland are doing. You can read more about it here. I was invited to send in a report on our work this year and today received the news that we had been chosen as one of three finalists and that I will have to be in Chicago on 6 August in order to receive the presentation.

This award is important for us for three reasons: 

1. There is quite a substantial amount linked to the award which will do much to help us in the work we do in Swaziland, mostly in buying food and medicine but also in erecting permanent structures from where we can feed orphans daily
2. The recognition which comes with a prestigious award like this is important, even more so because we are a fairly small church. This recognition has nothing to do with pride, but rather with the fact that we had proved that money and power is not a prerequisite before something can be done to bring change within a community
3. The plight of Swaziland needs to be made known all over the world. I know that there are voices going up to tell us that the world should stop spending money in combatting AIDS. I maintain that the church needs to do more – much more – to fight this disease and to help those affected by and infected with the disease.