Communalife

Tens of thousands of children worldwide are falsely accused of witchcraft and, as a result, face untold abuse. BCT was a founder member of Stop Child Witch Accusations (SCWA), a coalition of agencies and individuals determined to catalyse a Christian response to child witch accusations and associated abuse, and to bring the phenomenon to an end.

God has richly blessed the work of SCWA, such that it has now been registered as a charity in its own right in the UK, with the new name Communalife, (charity number 1218275.) BCT remains involved as an active supporter of Communalife’s work.

Communalife is continuing SCWA’s work in training and equipping church and community leaders in nations which are affected by the phenomenon in sub-Saharan Africa. This was initially focussed on DR Congo and Togo, and expanded to Nigeria and now, Kenya. Communalife works in close collaboration with local agencies in these nations, providing them with the training, guidance and resources they need so that they are able to develop and grow the work on the ground.

Communalife, as SCWA, created The Heart of the Matter, a contextualised, interactive and biblically-underpinned training tool which has proven effective in transforming attitudes and practices around child witch accusations, and bringing about lasting change for the better in families and communities where such accusations are normalised. The resource is now available free of charge in English, French and Swahili, through the Communalife website, along with complementary resources on sickness, health and healing and mental health matters.

In addition, Communalife as SCWA created unique, interactive, resources suitable for children to help address the inter-generational transfer of harmful beliefs and practices to the next generation. These resources are now being piloted by Communalife’s collaborators in Nigeria and Kenya.

Everything Communalife does is underpinned by research and the results of this research can also be found on the website, including a recent report into children’s attitudes and experiences around the issue of witchcraft accusations, A Child’s Eye Perspective.

SCWA was able raise the profile of the issue at the UN Human Rights Council and helped to influence the passing of a UNHRC Resolution calling for the Elimination of harm relating to witchcraft accusations and ritual attacks. Communalife is building on this through its participation in the International Network Against Witchcraft Accusations and Ritual Attacks (INAWARA -https://www.theinternationalnetwork.org/)

Communalife is seeking to expand the reach of its work, to impact more and more communities with life in abundance, in place of fear and harm, as promised by John 10:10, a verse which inspired this work from the outset.