March Newsletter 2025

There is varied news from the Home this quarter. The rains have come and everything is green and the grean mealies harvest has been good. However, due to external restrictions the number of children to be accommodated at the Home is reducing and the financial pressures mean staff reductions too.

There is a high level breakdown of the Home’s budget, and the main fundraising priorities for this years Matthew Rusike week listed.

Included this quarter is a lovely letter to the Friends from a boy at the school and news about some of the Leavers and what they have been up to.

Our thoughts are with Immanuel Mudsinge as he steps back to care for his health. We wish him a good recovery.

Best wishes

On behalf of Friends of Matthew Rusike Children’s Home, we want to thank Immanuel Mudzinge for all he has contributed to our work.

Immanuel joined us in 2017 as Treasurer, stepping in just when we needed him. He continued in this role until 2021 and then remained with us as a Trustee until December of this year. Ill health has meant he is now needing to step back from this role.

Always thorough and thoughtful in whichever way he supported our charity, his trusted advice will be sorely missed.

Immanuel, we thank you for all your hard work on behalf of FoMRCH and the Home, you have been a valued member of our committee.

We wish you well in your recovery.

December 2024 Newsletter

This quarter, the newsletter reports a new borehole has been drilled and is relieving some of the pressure caused by the drought. Funds are still needed to make this fully functional – mains electricity is still sporadic and it needs connecting to the solar panels. Please help if you can.

A huge thank you goes out to Solihill Methodist church who raised a fantastic 10k+. And to Debbie and Terry whose silver wedding celebrations expect to raise in excess of 1k.

There are lovely photos from the graduation of the children from the Early Childhood Centre and Grade 1.

And we say thank you to Carol Banham, our Chair of 20 years, who is retiring but will remain a Trustee to support the committe ongoing. Thank you Carol for you dedication and hard work on behalf of the Home.

Christmas Cards 2024

This year, we are again offering digital Christmas cards along side our real cards.

Our digital cards are available through an organisation which, for a donation from you, allows you to choose one of several designs to send to up to 100 friends (via email). This is an increasingly popular way to support your favourite charity.

The process is very simple:

1. Go to our card website.

2. Here you will see one example of our cards, click on this first card to see all the other choices.

3. Click on the card of your choice.

4. Say who the card is from and add your message.

5. Choose how much to donate (and whether to add a tip for Don’t Send Me A Card).

6. You are then sent to PayPal’s website to complete your purchase.

7. You are asked for the email addresses you want to send the card to, insert these.

8. Click send.

It’s very straightforward and a great way to stay in touch with people while also helping out the charity of your choice.

Thank you, and have a lovely Christmas.

Our deepest thanks

Carol Banham has been our Chairman for over 20 years. As she steps down we would like to take this opportunity to extend our deepest thanks for her leadership and dedication to our charity and to the Home itself.

Carol has provided essential stability and focus for the Friends’ work throughout this time having been involved in the evolution of the charity right from its inception. Her belief in education for all, combined with her dedication to caring for others has been a driving force behind her work with the Friends.

Her time with the Friends has covered a very turbulent period for the Home and she has provided invaluable support to fundraisers around the UK as she speaks about the Home. She has visited the Home on several occasions and run many fundraising events herself with the support of her husband Don. This is in addition to running the lucrative Christmas card sale each year which alone has raised thousands of pounds over the years.

Through regular contact with the Home, Carol’s newsletters have given us a very clear picture of what is going on for the children and all those who care for them and raised our awareness of where focus could go for Friends development projects.

Her commitment and tireless dedication over the years has made an immeasurable impact on the lives of the children and carers our charity supports.

Carol, while we will miss your leadership, we look forward to continuing to benefit from your wisdom and support as a trustee, ensuring continuity of support for both us and the Home. We wish you well.

September newsletter 2024

Our next newsletter is here.

This time we report on some specific financial difficulties facing the Home, difficulties which have meant some very hard choices have had to be made.

The Home also says goodbye to Zvirinane Matore. She has been a huge part of the Home for the last 16 years and was also instrumental in providing us with regular updates about daily life there. We wish you and your family well in your new life.

Please note our new committee members have now stepped into their role, all contact details have been changed accordingly.

June Newsletter 2024

This newsletter reports on a worsening situation for the Home. Donations in Kind are dropping as a result of the ongoing drought, rural areas having been particularly hard hit and this is reflected in the amount of support available. And the Big Sunday annual fundraiser while well attended, has not reached pre-pandemic number of attendees and the fundraising reflects this.

Any help you can give is always very much appreciated. A recent legacy from the estate of one of our supporters has arrived just at the right time and we are working with the Home to determine the best way to use this in service of the children. If it feels right for you, please do consider a legacy for the Home as part of your future planning.

March newsletter 2024

Our latest newsletter is available.

This quarter reports from the Home struggle to be positive. Extreme weather has meant crops have failed and a drought is imminent with the second borehole is nearly dry. A new borehole is one of the options being considered.

On a more positive note, results are in for the two students studying A-levels, both passed with flying colours and are now applying for law degrees. And the Home’s sunday school choir has graduated to winning the Connexional trophy (a national competition). Huge congratulations to everyone for all their hard work.

We would like to say a big thank you to Norton Methodists who adopted the Home for their 2023 fundraising project and produced some excellent results.

Please note. Our Chariman is stepping down after 20 years in post. We urgently need someone to take up this role. We are also looking for someone to take on the production of the Newsletter. Please get in touch with our Chairman if you feel you can help with either position.

Reaching out to all former children from the MRCH Home

A group of adults who once attended Matthew Rusike’s Children’s Home are creating an Alumni organisation. They want to offer support to each other as well as reach out to those young adults who are imminently leaving the Home.

As you may know on reaching 18 years of age, by law, young adults have to be discharged from the Home. The Home does what it can to prepare these young people for this, but ultimately no longer have responsibility for them. A support network is one way to help with this.

If you, or anyone you know attended the Home in the past and wish to become part of this project, please contact our Chairperson and she will pass your details to the co-ordinator.

December newsletter

Our latest newsletter is now available.

In this newsletter, we bid farewell to one of the long serving house parents at the Home. Fungayi Mahlakapane popularly known as Mrs Tunha, retired after 27 years. We thank her for all the love and support she has shown the children in her care.

At the same time, we welcome Audrey Standhaft who has joined the Friends as Secretary, we look forward to working with you. And extend a huge thank you of course to Michael for all the work he has done with us over the years – he will continue to work as a committee member.

The financial situation at the Home continues to be difficult, with staff salaries in arrears, the poultry project having been hit with a virus causing the loss of 200 birds, and buildings in need of essential repair. Projects are in the planning phase for the building work and any financial help you can offer with this will be very much appreciated.

Please note we are looking for a new Chariman as Carol Banham will be stepping down in June 2024 after 20 years in post. If you are interested please contact her directly.