Check out the reports for each of the villages visited on the 2012 TRIP.
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CHECK OUT NEW ARTICLES UNDER NEWS - in particular, the Tyume Valley Schools organization based in the U.K., and the new NGO by Dr. Norma - Jikani.
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NEWS FROM SA has information on the two experts MATE has found who can assist with making our Home Gardening efforts more successful. Check them out by going to the NEWS FROM SA tab.
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HOME GARDENS - THIS IS OUR FOCUS!Since the ill-fated trip in 2010, our focus has been on doing humanitarian efforts to alleviate the plight of the grannies who are left with supporting families devastated with AIDS, and raising the AIDS orphans left in their care. Working with Winnie Maneli, we have developed a "Home Gardens Constitution" to help the committees set up in the villages manage the distribution of the gifts were are blessed to be able to offer to them. To see, download, or print a copy of the constitution, click HERE. Note that the attachments referenced in the document are not included. If you would like to read in in Xhosa - their language - click HERE.
Any-Time GIFT GIVING - AN ALTERNATIVE:If you have someone on your gift list who would appreciate this idea - why not give a gift in their honor to our Partnership? We will send them an appropriate note on your behalf, as well as sending you a receipt and our thanks and gratitude.
If you click HERE, you can download and print a WORD document of the gift form. For those not into the WORD game [pun intended], click HERE for an Adobe version of the form. |
Who we are … What we do … A quick overview:Winnie Maneli & friend serving tea to Revs. Stu Cameron & Scott Planting in April, 2002
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. Mission Statement: 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. |
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 273 families in 10 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 273 families in 10 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 2012 - 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.