Faith-based organisations must do more to address social ills such as domestic violence, says Methodist Church general secretary Reverend Doctor Jolami Lasawa.
Reiterating the need for a communal effort towards addressing domestic violence and drug abuse, Dr Lasawa said although churches had conducted some activities to address these social ills, there was still room to do more.
“More should be done and we have to engage and encourage our working together with other Christian churches and faith-based organisations,” he said.
“The Methodist Church values ecumenism in which we work with other churches to deal with these matters.
“The Methodist Church has organised, over the past years, activities to raise awareness among our members about dealing with social ills.
“Some awareness programs would include our youths, women, men and children in which we have police officers come in to talk to them about the law that deals with problems of social ills.”
Dr Lasawa said while they had worked with stakeholders, he believed churches should work closely together to achieve positive results.
“We really need to work together to look at social issues happening around us, and we need to do more,” he said.
Church president Reverend Doctor Semisi Turagavou said the high level of sociopolitical issues in the country should impel the church to act responsibly and effectively.
“In addition, we also need more in self-training for leadership skills at the divisional level.
“Secondly, the church needs more qualified counsellors in the ministry to deal with social and psychological problems and their impacts on families and communities.
“These are usually beyond our control and we need qualified and spirit-filled counsellors to provide effective and appropriate solutions.”
He said leaders must be involved in this ministry to deal with these issues and “we need to develop the available resources that we have for the future”.