New bus launch

Bravo!!

On Friday 24th May, 2019, Makeni Ecumenical Centre launched their school bus!  It was a very exciting day for both the pupils and the staff.

For a long time the Centre has been thinking about procuring a school bus to ease the transport problem the pupils face. They will now be able to participate in many inter-school activities in and around Lusaka, even outside Lusaka.

Receiving the scissors to cut theribbonWith the help of our partners in Belgium the dream of having a school bus has come into reality.

Mrs Dil cuts the ribbon

Mrs Dil cuts the ribbon

The bus was bought with the funds from the Busy Lizzies of Flanders who donated Euro 18,000, an amazing donation indeed. It is a good and beautiful bus bought from Japan.

The management and staff are very grateful to the Busy Lizzies and it is our prayer that God Almighty will bless the Busy Lizzies of Flanders and grant them good and long life.

You will see that the bus has already been branded. As this is going on the web, the bus will already have been in use, following school management having put some logistics in place.

The attached pictures show how excited everyone is about their newly acquired property.

Thank you very much Busy Lizzies!

Bishop Andrew

Pupils being addressed by Mrs Dil

Pupils getting ready to get on the busTwo pupils giving a vote of thanks

Two pupils giving a vote of thanks

Teachers enjoying a ride

Teachers enjoying a ride

Pupils singing at the launch

Pupils singing at the launch

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A Bus from Belgium!

Bishop Mukuyamba reports on the 21st of May:

We had a very good Easter. I was in Petauke Parish in the Eastern Province of Zambia. It is a district 400 kilometres east of Lusaka from Thursday to Sunday afternoon. I arrived home at 2215 hrs after starting off from there at 1500 hrs.

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The bus at the centre, before branding

We have good news to share with you. The school bus for Makeni Centre has finally arrived at Makeni. The purchase of this beautiful bus has been made possible by a donation of 18,000 Euro from the Busy Lizzies group of Belgium. We are very grateful to our partners in Belgium who consistently donate funds to help our operations, especially  to support the vulnerable children of our community. The coming of the bus will help in improving the standard of the Centre and school in particular. In their last visit to Makeni Centre, Mr. Tournicourt, Ms Klaaus, and An Hofkens promised to raise funds for the b023us, and they have done it! We really salute them for this great effort.

We have now completed all the work of registration, licensing and branding the bus. We have written on both sides of the bus and we will be having a test drive on Friday at 1500 hours. We will ask a few pupils and teachers to have a ride on it. We have engaged a driver who has the right Driving Licence and the vehicle is insured comprehensively, since it will be ferrying a big number of people.

We have put the words “donated by Busy Lizzies, Flanders” and the flag as you suggested.

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After adding the Makeni Ecumenical Centre name, and ‘donated by Busy Lizzies, Flanders’

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Once again thank you for making our work of running the school easier!  The new bus will be a great bonus to the Centre.

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2018 Newsletter

Dear Friends of Makeni,

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Here is an update from MEC on activities in the last year.   We hear about the children at St Nicholas Child Care Facility, some of whom are preparing for their end of year of exams.

In July there was a youth conference held in Mwembeshi, including some children from St Nicholas.image007

A confirmation service at The Church of the Good Shepherd Makeni saw children from St Nicholas confirmed: Pexilida Hanyimba, Basil Tembo, Anna Tembo and Bupe Bwalya.

The Girls’ Brigade took part in a competition that included Bible quizzes, poems and handicrafts, as well as more physical contests such as relay races.  The Church of the Good Shepherd won a first prize trophy!

 

image002Peace Club held an event at the centre in October attended by 520 pupils and teachers from around Lusaka.

Rains arrived, though the farmers await a good downpour to soften their fields.  The children at the centre have also been keeping a vegetable patch.

The staff and children at the centre wish all of our image004supporters a very happy Christmas and rich blessings in the new year!

The 2018 newsletter is available here.

 

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Posted in Church of the Good Shepherd, food production, General news, Settlement Villages, St Nicholas Orphanage, Staff, Supporters | Leave a comment

More shoes coming from Pitsford School

Pitsford School have been collecting shoes for Makeni again!

The tweet below includes a wonderful pair of photos of the primary school children and their shoes lined up on the path outside the school, ready for collection and eventually for transportation to Lusaka.

Thanks to Julia Wilmott for sharing the tweet….

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