Makeni Centre News and Views

Dear All

Just a note to let you know that broadband has finally arrived at MEC! It's been a long time coming and is not cheap, but when one counts all the failed attempts to connect by dial-up, sometimes running into a dozen or more, each charged, then it doesn't look quite so bad anymore.

E-mail addresses at the centre have changed. You can reach Fr Mukuyamba and Mr Silwenga via the email addresses advertised on this website's contact page at http://www.makeni.org.uk/contacts.htm, or write to the postmaster @ makeni.org.uk if that isn't working out.

We now need to see that we make the best use of our internet connection. There's lots to do! I am sure that assistance will be needed to make sure that all our computers have their security nailed down, and to help the staff make best use of the resources that will now be at their disposal.

This is just to let you know that the 2009 Annual Report is available - we are slowly but surely catching up on our reporting schedule!

2009 was another eventful year, which included a visit from First Lady, Madam Thandiwe Banda for the annual graduation ceremony and also the opening of the new secondary school building by Dutch ambassador Mr Harry Molenaar.

In addition to the usual reports from each department on progress in the year, there is a foreword from the Chairman, Fr Andrew Mukuyamba and we also hear how Bertha Kabwe is getting on at Solwezi College of Education on her primary teaching course.

Happy reading!
MEC 2009 Annual Report.pdf

You never know what kind of rains a year will bring - some years you can't get enough, others you get too much. This is one of those years when the rain has just continued to fall in great quantities.

Once again, I hear, Makeni is being flooded. The drainage ditches along the roads have been poorly maintained.  Of course, much of Lusaka along Kafue Road used to be a place where ducks and deer were in abundance, and floods are nothing new to the city.

The general clinic, the ARV clinic, and the toilets for both the school and the clinics were flooded impassably for two days, which finally seems to have prompted the council to clear the ditch in front of MEC.

They put a large earth mover to work on the entrance to the centre. Unfortunately, in the process, they also removed the tarmac road at that point and the part of the road that went over the ditch. Cars could not get in or out for a full day, until Fr Mukuyamba and other staff exhibited that can-do attitude that is born of necessity, and built a new makeshift bridge over the ditch. It did get some water flowing though.

The 'dambo' as we call it - the acre or so we have always kept undeveloped - has flooded properly and is full of ducks and other unidentified visitors.

Apparently some children from the orphanage even took to the lake in a water storage drum for a while.

I have no current photos, but here are some from the floods in 1978, which give you a good idea of the scene on the ground. 1989 were the next big rains, and there was widespread flooding in Zambia (and all the way down the Zambezi) in 2000.

Joe Silwenga reports:

Mwomboshi Settlement Village has no government school and the residents send their children to a community school within the settlement village, initiated by Makeni Ecumenical Centre to help young children access basic education. The school runs from grade one to grade seven.

For the past two years the school management has been making efforts to raise the standards of the school to equal that of the government schools in Zambia.

Attempts to become a government school have faced difficulties because the Ministry of Education can only upgrade a school after sending qualified teachers.

For Mwomboshi settlement, the Ministry has required us to build a house for a teacher before one is sent to the area.

The Village Management Committee and the PTA decided to renovate one of the community houses, but lacked finances to embark on the project.

However the Friends of Makeni in Holland intervened and funded the project in 2008. Here you can see the house in the process of renovations.

Our thanks to our Dutch friends for this wonderful support!

I am told that on their recent visit, Gordon and Julia Lowes established a garden for the children at St Nicholas Village to grow their own food - or at least, to be able to grow some of it! Jacob reports...

They planted cabbage, cauliflower, melons, impwa, tomato, rape and okra. Most of the crops are growing well, although some appear to more popular than others!

Everyone is working enthusiastically on the garden and there are some plans for expansion to grow more, including maize production. Some land has been given for their use by the Agricultural department

Here you can see pictures of carrots, squash, impwa and tomatoes in early stages.

I am happy to pass on the news that the new, three-classroom school building has now been completed, after about seven months, thanks to the financial support of our Dutch donors.

For some time we had been asked by the community to extend our school from 'basic' to 'high school', by the addition of grades 10, 11 and 12, as there is no provision for this level in our area. To do this we also needed to provide facilities for laboratory lessons for science classes, which are to be achieved by shared space with the electronics school.

Thank you to Jan and Truus Veldkamp, who are visiting Makeni at the moment, for these pictures!

Thanks to donations from Saanich community, security at the orphanage was improved in June. Exterior grill doors have been fitted on several buildings.

Here are before and after pictures!

During my visit I have been watching the children playing football on our dusty football pitch. Games go on until the sun sets and are contested with great enthusiasm...

I took this picture of some of the orphanage children a few nights ago to share with you.

Hope you enjoy it!

African Aids Angels in Victoria, BC have been supporting our work for many years now. We are very grateful for their continuing assistance!  Whilst the group takes a particular interest in the welfare of the children at St Nicholas Orphanage, they also provide support to other Makeni Centre projects.

I have recently received these pictures from Joe Silwenga of Chisamba Settlement Village, where AAA also has been assisting with its Input Support Project.

The captions also come from Mr Silwenga.



A beneficiary (Jericho Chibulu) with his family showing the quality of cobs and pumpkins harvested from the field. Behind them is the traditional barn used for temporary storage of maize.