During this past year, Nancy worked with “Church World Service” in their East Africa regional office. Church World Service (CWS) is the relief, development, and refugee assistance ministry of 35 denominations in the US (including the PC(USA)). The ministry began after WWII to address the devastation in Europe and Asia, and now works in 80 countries around the world under the mission: “Christians working together with partners to eradicate hunger and poverty and to promote peace and justice around the world.” Nancy’s role at CWS was to coordinate the monitoring and evaluation of development programs, with the purpose of documenting progress and improving program designs. As part of her work, she assisted the Kenyan government in the creation of a monitoring tool to asses the safety of students in the local public schools. Throughout the course of the year, Nancy was impressed that CWS’s programs empowered communities by facilitating community ownership and long-term sustainability.
Shelvis worked with an organization called the “Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa (FECCLAHA)” which began as a response to the genocide in Rwanda. FECCLAHA works to enhance peace and reconciliation in the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa by facilitating ecumenical cooperation. The organization’s membership includes National Church Councils in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. While in East Africa, Shelvis developed a Contextual Bible Study Manual with a team of contributing scholars and theologians from Africa and North America. The Bible Study also highlights the stories of “every day people” who led extraordinary efforts of reconciliation in their communities. The purpose of the book is to guide participants as they connect Biblical narratives of conflict with their own personal stories. All with the hope of providing a safe space for discussion, healing and reconciling. As the book’s purpose is in line with his ministry and witness, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu endorsed the project and wrote the Foreword for the text.
In addition to Shelvis’ work with FECCLAHA, he also served in a local church, Loresho Presbyterian Church of East Africa.