Message from Steven Labana, the Board Chair
I am very honoured to have been selected in August as the new Chair of our NGO. This year is a very exciting time for us with the opening of the vocational training centre. This will allow us to train young people in a number of trades so that they may have a meaningful livelihood in future. Already, we have quite a number of graduates from university and technical colleges who are working in and outside of the Thyolo District, imparting the knowledge that they have learnt. These include:
University graduates:
Midwife - Brenda, Keith, Statistician - Clara, Social worker - Amadu, Secondary school teacher - Dyton, Technical Education Officer - Violet, Physiotherapist - Aaron, Agriculturist - Wilson, Irrigation Engineer - Austin, Agronomist - James.
Diploma or certificate from colleges:
Clinical officers - Gift, Funani, Bily, Chifundo, Sailesi
Medical Assistant - Evance, Lucius
Community development officer - Nenani, Kelvin, Dikilani
Accountant - Prince
Animal husbandry officer - Charles
Primary school teachers - Andrew, Sheillah, Rose, Stenala, Lion, Rexa, Amos, Stanslas, Otice, Often, Agness, Chifundo, Amos, Chitani, Hector, Ronald, Patrick, Witford, Lucy, Michael, Vincent, Dyna, Samuel, Kambani, Patrick, Nyadani, Stenala, Yohane, Chimwemwe, Elizabeth
Nurse - Dines, Patrick
Tailors - Patricia, James, Isaac, Chikondi, Fyness, Kakowa
Carpenter
Welders - Glyn, Alick, Evance
Policemen - Aaron, Christopher
Electrician - Waliyesa, Yohane
Administrator - Bright
Driver - Selfridge
Journalists - Chisomo, Enock
Car mechanic - Kondwani
It is heartening to have now a very capable team in our office, led by Executive Director Zione Chimpeni. Zione has been working for us for many years in different roles. Her attributes of hardwork, compassion & ability are without question. Recently, the management of our organisation as well as our way of running our programmes have been very much improved upon. Although we are not a big non-government organisation,
we believe that it is better to manage it well rather than just expanding for the sake of it. Our priority is thus to emphasize on compassion not just to our youthful students, but also to the elderlies by way of a Gogoz Programme.
I would like to wholeheartedly thank our friends and supporters from all over the world for their support. Please remember that you, your family and friends are always most welcome to this “Our Warm Heart of Africa”. I like also to give a special mention acknowledging our Patron Claude Ho who has been guiding us along all these years on a daily basis in the last thirteen years and no doubt into the future as well.