ABSTRACT
The coronavirus pandemic and its consequences have caused significant loss to lives, livelihoods, social and physical connections, the usual ways of life as well as how people grapple with death and mourning. This study focuses on the relevance of the Apostolic Women’s Empowerment Trust (AWET) in the context of COVID-19 vaccination in Zimbabwe. The chapter posits that AWET, a Faith Based Organisation which is advocating for the vaccination of women in Apostolic churches, is breaking new ground by convincing the once-sceptical congregants of the Apostolic churches (particularly women) in Zimbabwe to get vaccinated. The chapter is anchored on a biblical hermeneutical approach and is also informed by RARE leadership model to understand the Apostolic church communities’ response to COVID-19 vaccination. The research established that some women of the Apostolic churches acceded to the vaccination and the information, education and communication programmes championed by AWET at a time when society is grappling with the question: ‘Can anything good come from the women of the Apostolic churches?’ The chapter concludes that notwithstanding the ‘ambivalence of the sacred’, vaccination acceptance among some Apostolic members is a good indicator of AWET’s positive engagement to promote human flourishing amidst a health emergency in Zimbabwe.
