Welcome: www.jctr.org.zm; Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection-JCTR

The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection is a research, education and advocacy team that promotes study and action on issues linking Christian Faith and social justice in Zambia and Malawi. The JCTR began in 1988 as a project of the Zambia-Malawi Province of the Society of Jesus and is similar in orientation and activities with other Jesuit social centres around the world.

Mission Statement

To foster from a faith-inspired perspective a critical understanding of current issues. Guided by the the Church's Social Teaching that empasizes dignity in communiuty, our mission is to generate activities for the promotion of the fullness of human life through research, education, advocacy and consultation. Cooperating widely with other groups, our Jesuit sponsorship directs us to a special concern for the poor and assures an international linkage to our efforts. We aim to promote an inculturated faith, gender euality and empowerment of local communities in the work of justice and peace and the integrity of creation.

The Centre engages in research on key social issues like cost of living, social implications of debt servicing, accessibility of healthcare and education, and integrity of local democracy. We put forward our findings in publications, workshops and conferences, and media presentations. We join in advocacy campaigns by mobilising the public through local-based teams around Zambia and by cooperating with other civil society groups. Out current programmes include:

Meeting Basic Needs: For several years, JCTR has carried out in Lusaka a monthly survey of prices of basic family necessities (e.g. food housing, etc.) comparing the finding with take-home wages. This "Basic Needs Basket" is widely used by civil society organisations, labour unions, etc., to promote better living conditions. We have also done studies on the working conditions of teachers, cost sharing in education and accessibility of health services.

Building Awareness: The JCTR presents its research and educational materials through a quarterly Bulletin, a quarterly Policy Brief, a regular updated website, special reports, wide spread media coverage in local newspapers, radio and television and articles in popular and scholarly publications.

See a list of our close partners and benefactors

The Context in which we work

JCTR serves two African countries, Malawi and Zambia, though most of our current projects are located in Zambia. Both are peaceful countries, rich in natural and human resources and united by a strong desire to improve the living conditions of all.

However, both Malawi and Zambia are poor countries, heavily indebted and ranking low on the Human Development Index (HDI) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The JCTR works with other civil society groups to improve the situations in these countries by "promoting faith and justice". In doing so, we face a challenging landscape characterised by issues such as the following:

The average "Basic Needs Basket" for a family of six Lusaka is around K1,900,000.00, but the take home pay of most teachers is between K800,000.00 and K1,400,000.00

After Debt cancellation, the major challenge continues to be Continued borrowing from both external and local market, thus the need for legal review of the demanagement framenwork

The literacy rate of women is much lower than that of men, and girls are more likely to drop our of school than boys.

The social teaching of the Catholic Church is a rich resource for empowering people to work for social justice, but it still is in too many instances "our best kept secret".

Approximately 16 - 20% of Zambians are infected by HIV/ AIDS, but 100% are affected. The rapid spread of the diseases is closely linked to the fact that more than 80% of the people live below the poverty line.

Feeding people through the development of an agricultural sector that can sustain periodic droughts and floods is now Zambia's number one priority.

Environmental degradation in Zambia is undermining future sustainable development, an issue that especially hurts the poor

The Wonderful Staff at JCTR

About Us

Mission Statement