I arrived back from Zambia feeling encouraged. It was a busy but productive ten weeks, and all is running smoothly in both of our schools. Each week I was also involved with the Kafakumba Singers, the Limapela Running Club and the needs of our many vulnerable young people in the Baluba-Fisenge compounds.

Children at Luyando Community School receiving bananas donated by our neighbouring farm Cool Bananas

In a last minute meeting as I was leaving Zambia, our new Italian friend Matthieu Meneghini proposed the building of secondary ablution facility at Limapela Cedric’s. Since then, messages have been shooting backwards and forwards between Zambia, Italy and New Zealand, and we are now pleased to announce that the project will go ahead. It is being funded as a donation worth €130,000 by QuadroDesign. We are most grateful to Enrico Magistro, who is the owner of this company, and to the architect Giacomo Moor.

Although the structure has been prefabricated in Italy, the challenge for our project manager Paul Els will be to get the floor slab down, septic tanks installed and the pieces put together before the deadline of mid-October stipulated by QuadroDesign. Such a schedule is normally not possible in Africa!

We are also most grateful to two New Zealanders for generous donations earmarked for the Onesimus Scholarship Fund, the Building Fund and the Compassion Fund. God bless them! Eight students are receiving Onesimus funding at various secondary and tertiary institutions in Zambia, and the courses they have undertaken include medicine, business, law and engineering

New secondary classrooms at Limapela Cedric’s funded by the Beit Trust and other generous supporters. Ceilings and floor tiles are about to be fitted. We aim to have this building ready for use in January 2027.

We were relieved that the little girl who was raped has tested negative for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. We are praying for complete healing for her, and for protection for all our children who face such dangers more often than we would imagine. Special thanks to Elinda Steury and the medical staff at the Kafakumba Clinic in Fisenge. The clinic has been an enormous help with the medical needs of Limapela.

Once again, our thanks to you all for your interest, prayers and support.

— Matthew Raymond