Jim Olang

Jim Olang

Africa Editor

Articles by Jim Olang

  • Prepare before the El Niño floods, not during, Compassion International tells African churches

    Prepare before the El Niño floods, not during, Compassion International tells African churches

    Compassion International is urging African Churches to prepare adequately for what weather experts say will be one of the strongest El Niño events expected to take place from October 2026. Faith Magadi, the organization’s Senior Manager for Disaster Response, told Christian Daily International that churches need to build relationships with the police, local administrators, and emergency agencies before the onset of El Niño and not in the middle of one.
  • Madagascar churches mobilize as Cyclone Gezani death toll approaches 40

    Madagascar churches mobilize as Cyclone Gezani death toll approaches 40

    Intense tropical cyclone Gezani struck Madagascar’s eastern coast on Tuesday (Feb. 10), making landfall near Toamasina at approximately 7 p.m. local time. The storm, one of the most intense recorded in the satellite era, brought sustained winds of 110 mph and gusts exceeding 155 mph, killing at least 38 people and threatening a nation already struggling with disease, hunger, and political transition.
  • Burundi churches appeal for aid as Congolese refugee influx tops 88,000

    Burundi churches appeal for aid as Congolese refugee influx tops 88,000

    Tens of thousands of Congolese civilians have crossed into Burundi in recent weeks, fleeing a violent offensive by M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that has overwhelmed border communities and prompted churches to appeal for urgent international support.
  • Malawi faith leaders challenge High Court abortion ruling as ‘worrying precedent’

    Malawi faith leaders challenge High Court abortion ruling as ‘worrying precedent’

    Malawi’s major faith bodies are challenging a High Court ruling that allowed a 14-year-old rape survivor to access an abortion, warning the decision sets a “worrying precedent” for the country’s abortion laws. The Malawi Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Malawi Council of Churches, the Evangelical Association of Malawi and the Muslim Association of Malawi said the Oct. 28 ruling not only overturns long-standing legal limits on abortion but also risks reshaping national policy without broad pub
  • Maps shape mental images and destinies of nations and Africa deserves better

    Maps shape mental images and destinies of nations and Africa deserves better

    The continent of Africa looks different depending on which calculations you choose to make a three dimensional reality into a two dimensional representation, and the choice is largely determined by who is in charge and what narrative they wish to portray. The African Union has decided it is time to take charge and give the world a better perception of the African continent. Jim Olang hopes this will help lift African confidence in the wider world.
  • Africa Bible Impact Summit calls for Christ-centered transformation in Africa

    Africa Bible Impact Summit calls for Christ-centered transformation in Africa

    The Africa Bible Impact Summit (ABIS), held Feb. 11-13, 2025, in Kigali, Rwanda, brought together 144 delegates, including more than 80 denominational leaders, mission and ministry leaders, Christian CEOs, and government officials, representing 30 African countries, the United Kingdom, Mexico, the United States, Thailand, Finland, and India.
  • The Church offers a glimmer of hope amidst unimaginable suffering in DRC’s Goma

    The Church offers a glimmer of hope amidst unimaginable suffering in DRC’s Goma

    One could write endlessly about the horrors I witnessed this week in Goma, Eastern DRC. The streets, once filled with life, bore the marks of conflict—bodies being cleared away, bullet casings scattered, and the weight of immense human loss pressing down on a city of two million people. More than 3,000 lives have been lost. Women are raped constantly, no police force in place and prison breaks common place. Children, many orphaned, navigate a world that has turned cruel overnight. The darkness o
  • The African Church should be more proactive to stem deadly Africa-Europe migration trends, says Dr. Joe Bonga

    The African Church should be more proactive to stem deadly Africa-Europe migration trends, says Dr. Joe Bonga

    The Refugee Highway Partnership has urged African Churches to be more involved in reducing unemployment, conflict and discrimination as a means of curbing irregular and dangerous immigration. Dr. Joe Bonga, who serves in the Refugee Highway Partnership Global Leadership team, said that the church in Africa has the potential to be a transformative force in addressing the root causes of forced immigration.