Dear Friends of Makeni,
I must apologise to you for not reporting Makeni news for some time now. I had hoped that this would in future be done by the Makeni staff, but the office computer has been out of order for some months now. My health has been rather poor, preventing me from doing as much work for MEC as I usually do.
Here, then, is the latest news. We would like to ask donor agencies to please print this news letter and put it on file as part of our reporting procedure to them.
1. Yet another academic year for the adult education courses run by MEC has come to a close - our 28th graduation ceremony took place in September. The results of the final examinations were as follows:
Subject | Enrolment | Completions | Full Certificate | Rewriting |
Agriculture | 15 | 12 | 8 | 4 |
Settlement | 26 | 23* | 19 | 5 |
Electronics I | 12 | 9 | 6 | 3 |
Homecraft | 19 | 13 | 9 | 4 |
Carpentry | 13 | 8** | ||
Electronics II | 25 | 17 | 15 | 2 |
Electronics II*** | 25 | 25** |
* 22 families will be settled in Mwomboshi and Chisamba
Settlement Villages
** these candidates will sit for their final exams in November
*** This past year we enrolled a second group of Radio and TV
Craft Certificate students
The number of adult students who have passed through the Centre now stands at approximately 4200 students . As one travels around Zambia, one is now often approached by people who, with pride and gratitude, recall their training at MEC and describe how they have progress in their lives and jobs as a result. Deo gratia!
2. Enrolment for the 200/2001 Adult Education courses is as follows:
Subject | Enrollment |
Agriculture (general training in seven subjects) | 19 |
Training for Agricultural Settlement | 29 |
Tailoring and Designing | 21 |
Nutrition | 6 |
Carpentry | 8 |
Radio & TV Craft Certificate (I) | 20 |
Radio & TV Craft Certificate (II) | 8 |
TOTAL: | 111 |
Enrolment is continuing.
Considerable changes have been made in the Homecraft/Domestic Science School, introducing short courses and splitting courses from each other. The competition in this area from other schools is now fierce, many of them run by ex-students of ours...
The Carpentry Course has not done well because of the poor calibre of the staff. He has now left and a better teacher is being sought.
We reported separately on the enrolments and academic results of the Computer School in the previous newsletter.
3. The Pre School and the Primary School are doing very well. The following are the enrolments for the present year:
Pre-School | 45 |
Grade I | 56 |
Grade II | 53 |
Grade III | 55 |
Grade IV | 49 |
Grade V | 49 |
Grade VI | 49 |
Grade VII | 44 |
TOTAL | 405 |
4. The Mwomboshi Settlement Village Community Centre has been rebuilt and completed and repaired; you will remember that we found an old, derelict, incomplete structure on that farm. Thanks to a grant from the Council for World Mission, England, we were able to create seven classrooms, three clinic rooms, a community hall and a headmaster's office in that building. The local community are delighted with this unexpected blessing. A Primary School has already been started; a general clinic and family planning clinic will open soon. Adult Literacy classes, homecraft and first aid lessons will all be conducted in the new community Centre [pictures can be viewed at our website], as well as church services for various denominations.
5. The Family Planning Project continues to struggle on. Thanks to grants from the Klooster Kerk, The Hague, Holland, from the Royal Netherlands Embassy and from congregations and Christians in Holland, this project has been given a new lease of life. This funding enables us to buy a secondhand vehicle to replace the one that went up in flames, and to carry on with the work. Since then a congregation in Baarn, Holland, has donated funds for a new vehicle, as it was feared that the older vehicle would not survive on the rural roads of Zambia. The secondhand vehicle has now arrived in Zambia; we are awaiting the funds for the new one. We thank all the people in Holland who were determined to see that this vital project which also offers AIDS Prevention activities would not collapse!
6. Finally, the Orphanage Project is making steady though slow progress. The sticking point now is recurrent expenditure. Sufficient funds have been collected to pay off the cost of buildings, and to build a new dining/common room for the children, and to buy the furniture and equipment for the project. However, the running costs, always a headache, have not yet been found. Members of the Klooster Kerk in Holland have approached their church headquarters for help with this and we are praying for a positive response. We thank Mr Wim Goris and Mr Kees Koenen for all their efforts on behalf of this project.
The promise of the President of Zambia to support this project financially has not been honoured. We are continuing to remind him of his pledge.
Some Friends of Makeni are asking whether the number of orphans cared for at MEC will remain at 35 children. The answer to this question can not be given definitely now -- we prefer a small, community-based approach where institutionalism will be non-existent. Integration of the children in the normal community life of the Centre is of paramount importance. With additional buildings the number could be doubled, but we shall go carefully on this.
Please consider whether you and your congregation or organisation can make a contribution towards the running costs of the Orphanage. The budget can be viewed on our web site, which is listed below.
8. The books of MEC were audited in July and August and the Audited Accounts for 1999 were published in September. They show settlement investments at K69 million, the same as 1998, but a 243% increase in recurrent expenditure, a worrying phenomenon. K124.6 million was spent on buildings and other fixed assets. Cost of administration also increased greatly and steps are being taken to remedy this. Copies of audited accounts are available on request.
Many thanks for all your support! Fr Mukuyamba, the new chairman and Mrs Allen and all the staff send their greetings to you!
Yours in Christ,