By Joyce Mwangi, Anglican Church of Kenya
The Anglican Development Services (ADS)– Kenya plans to hold a development stakeholders’ forum to be held on 28th February, 2014.
The forum which will be held at All Saints Cathedral Auditorium will bring together senior government officials, partnering foreign missions, donor partners, collaborating partners, Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) Bishops, beneficiary community representatives and ADS board members and senior staff.
The theme for the forum is, “Strengthening partnerships for sustainable livelihoods.” ADS Regional development organizations from all over the country will exhibit the work as well as their learnings and challenges in their respective social transformation initiatives.
The Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) has been implementing development projects for other 30 years and this forum seeks to celebrate the impact of the work done. The history of the ACK dates back to early 18th Century when the first missionaries chartered the African terrain with the aim of preaching the Gospel.
As the missionaries interacted with the communities, the need to address social issues became evident. It begun with promoting basic education to enable new converts read the Bible.
Years on, healthcare services and agriculture among other development projects were assimilated. Between 1967 and early 1990s diocesan development depart- ments were established. In 1991, the provincial desk was constituted into a distinct office called Provincial Development Office (PDO) with the mandate to consolidate, facilitate and develop capacity of the Diocesan Development Department. After evaluation in 2002, the development work restructured to accommodate thematic approach; thus the establishment of Directorate of Social Services (DOSS).
2012 marked a great turning point in ACK development work. The social transformation department rebranded to Anglican Development Services (ADS). The name was inspired by the need for the Anglican Church of Kenya to define her identity as she works with the community in the respective regions.
The development work is coordinated through ADS regions spread throughout the country, with the secretariat based in Nairobi. The regions are; Nakuru, North Rift, Western, Nyanza, Eastern, Mt. Kenya, Mt. Kenya East, Pwani and NAIKA (Nairobi, Kajiado and All Saints). The ADS-Kenya’s mission is building partnerships with communities and enabling them to exercise their God-given potentials in addressing their needs.