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SOUTH AFRICA LINK The Bolton and Rochdale Methodist District has links with two Circuits in South Africa : King Williams Town area (Eastern Cape) and Pinetown, Durban (KwaZulu Natal Province) Two specific
projects/needs have been identified and it was agreed to raise monies in the Bolton
& Rochdale District for:
King
Williams Town area (
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PHAKAMISA |
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The name “PHAKAMISA” is pronounced “PA-GA-MEE-SA” and means ‘TO LIFT UP, TO MAKE GROW
Phakamisa
Prayer Request
Please pray for the Caregivers, many elderly, and
the young orphaned children and teenagers they are trying to nurture, who are
facing the problem of drug abuse.
These young people are being exposed to a
dangerous popular mix called ‘wunga’ at a very tender age.
Thank you for your continued love, prayers and support for Phakamisa.
PHAKAMISA IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE THANKS TO YOU
Our 6th
‘Phakamisa Golf Day’ was another success, raising £4,500.
This will go a long way in supporting the
Wandering teachers, Nonkululeko, Thandi, Nomalanga,
and their children.
An enormous thank you goes to the donors, sponsors (individuals, companies
and Walkden Methodist Church), players, people who came to the evening meal,
helpers and everyone who supported the Golf Day in any way.
The
organisers are so touched by people’s generosity, not only
financially, but also in their time and commitment to Phakamisa.
Diary date for next year’s Golf Day is Tuesday 15th May 2012
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NEWS
Easter 2011 (Please click here)
January
2011
There
are several exciting changes happening in Phakamisa this year, which I want to
share with you.
This
will have a new, training-directed focus, rather than an order/ marketing
directed focus.
All
these opportunities require the participants to have facilities of their own at
home. Several do not, so we hope to be able to provide micro- loans to some our
participants, to purchase capital items so they can start their own little
businesses.
As
you know, Elaine Osborn, our Psychomotor trainer, retired at the end of last
year. We will sorely miss her enthusiasm and passion for young children.
Fortunately, Hilary Coombe is a qualified and equally enthusiastic pre-school
teacher. The wandering teacher classes will still come to Pinetown once a week,
but instead of receiving a psychomotor class, they will enjoy a pre-school day,
in a well equipped environment.
An
additional benefit to this new programme is that the Educare trainees will
participate in the pre-school day as part of their training. We are sure this
vibrant in-service experience will enhance their teaching skills and help them
to see how the teaching notes and improvised games are used in this “Model
Pre- School”. Of course the children will benefit from the
Educare
teacher training classes will thus run with a new experiential focus in
Pinetown. Our very popular Child minders’ Course, for people teaching
0-3 year old children, will continue.
1.
Educare
training at Nyangwini will also offer a Child Minders course this year, in
addition to the Educare course (for teachers of 4-6 year old children) which was
offered last year.
2.
We
also very proud to be starting a new branch of Educare and Child Minders’
training in Pietermaritzburg this year, in conjunction with the Metro and
Prestbury Methodist churches. Participants from schools in that geographic area
will be able to receive training in a local centre.
Elaine
Green and Cathy Ferguson will travel to the two satellite centres once a
fortnight to provide the training.
A
short course for Educare Supervisors in administrative skills will be provided
from the Pinetown Training Centre. This will enable Educare Centre
Supervisors to better manage their centres.
3.
CAREGIVERS
The
Caregiver classes this year will focus on:
Tholuthando,
our HIV AIDS support group will continue to meet once a fortnight.
1.
FINANCES:
Banks in South Africa no longer accept foreign cheques.
People
in the United Kingdom can easily support our work by depositing into the UK
Trust account:
PINETOWN
METHODIST CHURCH MISSION TRUST (U.K.)
Bank
of Scotland
Sort
Code: 80-02-24
Account
number: 600 4775 Please inform Bob Mawer of your donation on: Robert.mawer@which.net
and copy us on glendah@phakamisa.org
for our records.
Glenda
Glenda
Howieson (Co-ordinator)
September 2010 (Please click here)
June 2010 (Please click here)
March
2010
Dear Friends,
Did
you hear of the English postman, who, during this bitter winter, delivered
breast milk from a Milk Bank, to a marooned, premature baby and her sick mother?
Or
of the tiny baby, only a few days old, rescued from under the rubble, many days
after the Haiti earthquake?
The
harsh winter of 2009/2010 in the northern hemisphere and the devastating
earthquake in Haiti both represent incidences of human suffering of epic
proportions. In the face of seemingly overwhelming pain Mother Teresa has
wise words for us: “If you can’t feed a hundred people then feed just
one.” The postman did. The rescuer did.
Esther
and Ntombi of Phakamisa were recipients of such actions a while ago.
Friends
of mine had catered for a business function and had lamb stew and rice leftover,
which they gave to Phakamisa to distribute. This is an extract from a thank you
letter to them.
When
you delivered the food today, we were talking about the huge need facing South
Africa as a developing nation and the effects of the recession on charities and
families’ finances. Somehow it all seemed overwhelming. What could
we do-you do- I do? Our contributions and efforts felt so insignificant in
the bigger scheme of things!
THEN.........I
took your meals out to the families in need.
I just WISH, WISH, WISH you had been there! At first Esther did not believe the food was for her. (Her English and my isiZulu are both poor.) When she truly understood, she simply sobbed. She put her pinafore over her head and cried- shaking her head, saying "Nkosi-yami" (“my God”) over and over again! Then she sent her 7 orphans out to call her neighbours to join the feast. There was much laughter, loud, joyful talking, ululating and singing! One of her neighbours explained that the only time they had ever seen so much meat, was at funerals- but that the goat meat served there often made them sick! You provided a feast for many today! I was going to give her one 5 litre container of the stew, but when I saw how she, despite her own need, reached out to others- I gave her two 5 litre containers!
A
very similar thing happened at the other 2 homes I went to! Children were
called from across the valley, in loud, delighted voices telling of the good
news!
And
each time, the neighbours were called to share in the feastl!
And
each time, they stood in a circle, sang and all prayed aloud together, for you
and the boys! (I had to explain WHO you were and all about your
family, because they all really wanted to know!!)
I
do so wish you had been there!!
I
kept remembering you saying, as you delivered the food, "We can't help
much- we are so small." How mistaken our thinking can be! In
fact that’s the very heart of Mother Teresa’s quote- “If you can’t feed
a hundred people, then feed just one”.
I
was struck by the ripple effect and impact of a small action (just feed one
person). You reached out to 3 families, who in turn reached out to their
communities, so hundreds of people WERE fed, because you were faithful and
‘fed one person’.
Clearly
a ‘loaves and fishes’ event happened, where the community members combined
their resources and created a feast…………BUT, it took one ‘small’
action of feeding one person FIRST…………and THEN- hundreds were fed! Do
any of us realize the ripple effects of our smallest actions? Are you building
wholeness and connection, or are you inadvertently disconnecting and destroying?
The
story ends a few weeks later when Ntombi’s 20 year old daughter died. During
Phakamisa’s devotions Ntombi gave thanks for the visit and the feast and
said her daughter was not afraid to die, because she had met Jesus through
people who loved her and fed her and her community….. but had never seen her.
“If
you cannot feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”
With my very fond love
Glenda
Glenda
Howieson (Co- ordinator)
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Purchasing On-Line to help Phakamisa
