Registered charity 1120944
The March newsletter is now available with an update from Margaret about progress at the Home.
Rev. Margaret Mawire will be visiting the UK later this year to raise awareness about the Home and to support fundraising activities when at speaking events. She will be here for 3-4 weeks in June. If you feel able to offer accommodation or indeed wish to host a meeting for Margaret to speak at please get in touch soon. We are starting to plan her trip now.
Cricketer, singer and Christian, Henry Olonga, is speaking at St Stephen’s Church, Waterloo Rd, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 2SW for a fundraising evening in aid of the Home on 26th April (7:30pm for 8pm).
The proceeds go towards purchasing a generator for the Home.
Tickets are £10, include a light refreshment and are available from
Tickets: Tonbridge Christian Book Centre,9 Quarry Hill Parade, Tonbridge, TN92HR or Tel: 01732 364897 or www.tcbconline.co.uk
David and Wayne will be driving an elderly Mercedes Benz the 2,700 miles from London through Morocco and the Western Sahara to the Mauritanian border in West Africa.
The plan is to get sponsorship for the journey and to sell the car in the no-man’s land on the Mauritania border. All donations will go direct to FoMRCH, and the value of the vehicle when it sells will be David’s contribution. Wayne will be sharing the driving and navigation (and tent). Thank you and good luck guys.
MRCH supporters Graham and Lynda Jones are raising funds to buy a new generator. They write:
“The electricity supply in Zimbabwe is erratic and MRCH can sometimes go for days without power. That creates real problems. Cooking has to be done on open fires and firewood is getting hard to find. Projects like tomato-growing need water that has to be pumped. Meat can’t be frozen so sometimes goes to waste. Drugs for children with HIV/Aids can’t be kept refrigerated. When the power is off, computers sit useless.
“When we visited MRCH last year, it was clear that a new generator would make a huge difference. The home aims to cover fuel and maintenance, so we’re looking to raise £17,000 for the purchase and installation. If we beat our target, the extra will help towards the running costs.”
Please help and donate online.
Nick undertakes an ultra marathon on behalf of MRCH. He will be running 100km in around 20 hours. Please sponsor him.
The December newsletter is now available with more stories from the Home.
There is a gentle reminder to pay for your Christmas card packs if you haven’t already done so. We are well on our way to raising another fantastic total but there are payments outstanding.
My name is Peter
Life can be a difficult puzzle whose pieces one can struggle to put together especially without a proper knowledge of one’s background. This is true to my humble life which was spent trying to join these pieces together, but many thanks to Matthew Rusike Children’s Home (MRCH) which has stood with me, not only as a mother and father but as an all-weather friend so that my life can be meaningful and one day reflect a glorious future as I write a short story of my life.
I was born twenty four years ago. I suffered abuse in the hands of my father and stepmother. I was too young to run away from home so I had nothing to do but to endure all affliction, to the extent it was no longer a secret in my small community in Epworth. With the support of the local clinic, the Department of Social Services placed me in MRCH after learning of my living conditions.
I went to MRCH at a very young age. I can vividly remember how I struggled to say my name properly. I attended pre-school in the crèche where I started to adjust to the new environment and get used to spending my life around many people, most of who were my age. The new home offered me a different perspective of life, life began to make sense, I felt I had every reason to live now and everything was just pleasant. One thing that kept puzzling me was how could I be taken to an orphanage when my parents were both alive but as I grew up I began to understand what Matthew Rusike Children’s Home was all about. Though I was still very young, I grew to enjoy life.
I went to Epworth Primary School nearby. The home nurtured my God-given academic skills as the home had a library where a certain time was marked for studies. All the years at primary I was awarded academic prizes and my last two years there I managed to get the smartness prize. Being at the home was an inspiration to make me work extra hard and achieve excellence in everything I did. At the home we were taught to work and to take care of ourselves. We were trained to deal with any situation that might arise.
I finished my primary education well and was offered an opportunity to go to boarding school, an opportunity that is offered to any child who passes well in his/her primary education. My academic life continued at a Methodist school where I did my form one up to form six. I passed well again in my O’Levels and A’levels and the home again offered me the opportunity to proceed to tertiary education. In 2010 I started my tertiary studies at Midlands State University where I am currently doing my Honours degree in History and International Studies, I am now in my final year.
With this entire journey the Home has been with me, paying my school fees since grade one and is even prepared to see me through to PhD level. The home has been a faithful parent to me.
In 2002 the home also offered me an opportunity to look at life from a different perspective as it introduced me to some foster parents who have welcomed me into their family and made me part of them up to this very day. The home did not stop, but has continued and is still continuing to take care of me. Life in a small, real family was at first a challenge but I have successfully adjusted and now I am well prepared to face any challenge any normally raised person will face.
Today I stand in no shadow of doubt that without MRCH, I would not have been anywhere. I am proud to say that I am what I am and have what I have because of the home. Now that my future is clear and certain, I have every reason to thank the Almighty for He has made rivers in the desert and has stood as Jehovah Jireh; the Lord my provider for He has also provided manna in the desert. Where a gap was left by my parents, the home has been there to fill the gap. I feel my life owes a lot to the home now. As I look forward to finishing my first degree this year, I pray that God will continue with me so that I use the foundation already laid by MRCH to build a great future that will be a celebration of my life. I am looking forward to completely re-uniting with my real family and maybe move on with them in life despite any past failures and hurts.
Now that God has clearly spoken to me, I have to revisit the work that has been started by my hero and founder of MRCH, the late Reverend Matthew Jacha Rusike so that I will have to do the same and save souls just as I was saved.
Matthew Rusike Children’s Home, the most wonderful place in the world, I will always be part of it. The love I have received and still am receiving is beyond any words to describe. My life is now on track, I have grown to become a lovely young man, everything in my life today is a reflection of the beauties of the home. I take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been and is still part of Matthew Rusike Children’s Home, may God continue to bless you abundantly. Thank you.
The 2013 christmas cards are now available. The flyer contains all the information you need regarding those designs from previous years that are still available to order. Please note members-you will continue to receive 5 packs of the 2 new designs unless you alter your order.
If you have never had cards from us before you will need to send me your order using the style numbers on each card or asking for mixed packs.
Selling cards has raised a profit each year of around £3,000 which goes directly to the MRCH Organisation, so your support is greatly appreciated. A huge thank you to all of you who buy cards every year.
Please contact the Chairman with your order as soon as possible, particularly if you want something different from the standard order of 5 packs of the 2 new designs.
The September newsletter is now available.
There are wonderful stories from some of the young people at the Home. Do take a look when you get a moment. It is wonderful to see what a difference you are making in the lives of these children and young people. Please also take note of the lovely feedback from Rev Margaret Mawire…
“We are grateful to FoMRCH for making our life easier. You may be interested to know that you are our only consistent partner. May you all be blessed abundantly for the wonderful work you are doing for the children of Zimbabwe.”
My name is Tapiwa S born in Epworth in 1992, I came from a small impoverished family which was surviving under difficult conditions. I stayed with my single mom who passed away when I was 6. I never knew my father. When my mother died, my 7 siblings and myself had to look after ourselves. My 18 year old brother strived to take care of all of us. It was difficult. MRCH came to our rescue and gave us relief from the hardships that we were facing. Through their support, I managed to attend school, have food in my stomach, clothing and my ailing health was taken care of. I did very well in my primary education and MRCH continued to pay for my secondary education. I passed my GCE ‘’O’’ level examinations and because my results were outstanding MRCH enrolled me in boarding school for my Advanced level. Again I excelled. Today, I am studying an Honours degree in Marketing Management. This is all as a result of the support of MRCH. I thank them and all the supporters of MRCH for they have enabled hopeless situations to turn into testimonies. Today, I can look forward to a great future. I thank God for His grace and my life because I have been abundantly blessed.