Who we are … What we do … A quick overview:
Winnie Maneli & friend serving tea to Revs. Stu Cameron & Scott Planting in April, 2002
We are engaged in a relationship that addresses the alleviation of the legacies of apartheid – hunger, poverty & disease – through self-empowerment, respectful dialogue, and sustainable projects. What started in 2000 as a sister-church relationship with the Macfarlan Presbyterian Church has grown and expanded to provide community-wide programs in the Tyhume Valley where Macfarlan is located. Apartheid ended in 1994, and it was in 1999 that the former black and white churches came together to create the “Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.” Members of the Presbytery of Northern New England [PNNE] were there to celebrate the new union. A year later, a partnership with the Macfarlan Church in the Tyhume Valley was formed with MATE.
Our PARTNERSHIP…
… is exemplified in this picture: Winnie Maneli serving afternoon tea at a church roofing project in the Dyamala village in 2002. During a 2-week visit there, MATE helped add the roof trusses to the new outstation church started by Winnie and her late husband.
Our PARTNERSHIP…
… is exemplified in this picture: Winnie Maneli serving afternoon tea at a church roofing project in the Dyamala village in 2002. During a 2-week visit there, MATE helped add the roof trusses to the new outstation church started by Winnie and her late husband.
THE TYHUME VALLEY –
… a semi-arid region nestled within the Amatola Mountains of the Eastern Cape Province. It is about 100 km inland from the Indian Ocean coastal town of East London. The Tyhume River runs through many of the villages during the rainy season – it trickles through them the rest of the year.
The people are of the Xhosa clan, and while many speak English, the Xhosa language is predominantly used. The Presbyterian Church in this area dates back to 1827, when missionaries from Scotland founded a mission church in nearby Alice.
CURRENT AGRICULTURAL PROJECT:
The Home Gardens project has grown from the initial training of 17 families in 4 villages in February 2007, to 283 families in 7 villages.
Most of the family gardens are maintained by elderly grannies, many of whom are not only caring for themselves, but also for their AIDS-orphaned grandchildren and other family members afflicted with AIDS.
The people are of the Xhosa clan, and while many speak English, the Xhosa language is predominantly used. The Presbyterian Church in this area dates back to 1827, when missionaries from Scotland founded a mission church in nearby Alice.
CURRENT AGRICULTURAL PROJECT:
The Home Gardens project has grown from the initial training of 17 families in 4 villages in February 2007, to 283 families in 7 villages.
Most of the family gardens are maintained by elderly grannies, many of whom are not only caring for themselves, but also for their AIDS-orphaned grandchildren and other family members afflicted with AIDS.
Visits to Macfarlan & the Tyhume Valley:
MATE has sent a delegation in 2002, ’03, ’05, ’06, ’08 & ’10, and in 2004 we brought 4 adults to Maine for 3 weeks. Many church dinners, plus rummage & bake sales helped raise travel funds – plus personal funds and help from family & friends. MATE does not use donations to cover personal travel expenditures. Donations are used 100% for the in-country projects.
NEXT TRIP TO THE TYHUME VALLEY -- DEPARTING AUGUST 22. PART OF THE GROUP WILL RETURN ON SEPTEMBER 5; TWO OF US WILL RETURN ON SEPTEMBER 26. Additional details will be added as they become available. For current status of the trip, click HERE.
NEXT TRIP TO THE TYHUME VALLEY -- DEPARTING AUGUST 22. PART OF THE GROUP WILL RETURN ON SEPTEMBER 5; TWO OF US WILL RETURN ON SEPTEMBER 26. Additional details will be added as they become available. For current status of the trip, click HERE.
Would you like to join us for part or all of this trip? You not have to be a member of a MATE church, and we are opening this trip to anyone who identifies with our mission objectives. You can contact Ed Jesteadt by clicking on my name.
This page is a "work in progress" - and will be changing and adding more information over the next few weeks and months.
To return to the MATE website, click here. To return to the top of this page, click here.
To return to the MATE website, click here. To return to the top of this page, click here.
