Participants in an LWF-supported training to raise awareness on gender-based violence and offer psychosocial support in Carabobo, Venezuela. Photo: IELV/ Judith Bracho
LWF diaconal practitioners share best practices and increase networking
(LWI) – As churches implement diaconal projects with support from The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), sharing best practices across all LWF regions is vital for affirming the call to spread hope, empower communities, and impact the world.
“Diakonia is not optional. It is how the church lives out faith—through a visible, courageous commitment to love, justice, and care for the world in which we live,” says Ashenafi Haile, LWF Program Executive for Diakonia and Development.
Ashenafi facilitates training workshops for coordinators of LWF’s member church projects with the goal of learning how such initiatives impact communities and enabling participants to learn from each other, while affirming what they have in common as members of the Lutheran communion.
Diakonia is not optional. It is how the church lives out faith—through a visible, courageous commitment to love, justice, and care for the world in which we live,
Ashenafi Haile, LWF Program Executive for Diakonia and Development
Training in child protection
At an online workshop held toward the end of 2025, 36 diaconal practitioners, mostly from LWF member churches across Latin America and the Caribbean and a few from Africa and Asia, shared experiences from nearly 14 LWF supported projects. Participants heard how protecting children is a critical concern for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Colombia (IELCO), in a context where decades of drug trafficking and guerrilla conflict continue to affect communities, even in peace times. “The church is strongly committed to child protection and creating safe spaces where children can learn about their rights and speak openly,” said Alexandra Nossa.
Alongside assistance toward education, IELCO works with the children to identify unsafe practices, how to care for one another and build confidence, Nossa said. Their parents, guardians and other adults in the community receive skills training on challenging harmful practices that encourage child abuse and gender-based violence. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Venezuela (IELV) implements a similar project that includes training in pastoral care and personal hygiene for youth and women, in the northwestern region of Carabobo.
Supporting returning migrants
Rev. Emmanuel Gabriel shared insights from the LWF Symbols of Hope project in Nigeria, which addresses risks associated with irregular migration and human trafficking such as sexual and labor exploitation. Implemented through the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN), the initiative raises awareness by helping returnees to share their stories, providing them with psychosocial support, counselling, skills training, and resources to set up income-generating activities.
“The risks are devastating, claiming the lives of countless young people and leaving deep scars on families and communities—particularly young women due to limited opportunities at home,” he said.
Between 2017 and 2025, around 3,500 returned migrants—67 percent of whom were women—received livelihood and psychosocial reintegration assistance through the LCCN-led project. The number of potential migrants reached by the project through radio, national TV and sporting events in Nigeria is estimated to be much higher.
For Ashenafi, discussion around the IELCO, LCCN, IELV and other projects highlighted the need to: strengthen child safeguarding policies at congregational level, and increase collaboration with stakeholders on migration and human trafficking concerns.
Looking ahead at similar workshops in 2026, participants said it was essential to share good practices on economic justice, disability inclusion, and interfaith dialogue. “These online workshops help to connect diaconal workers and scholarship holders across the different LWF regions, and strengthen networking between Asia, LAC, and global partners, building a meaningful interconnected diaconal community,” Ashenafi added.
