Bits & Pieces..

Today’s blog does not have a major story, or an overriding theme, but it brings a few things up to date for everyone. So, here are the various Bits & Pieces about Friends of Pakati for this week!

Pakati Secondary School, 2021

1. Fundraising.

So far this year we have raised a total of £1544, but with a few outgoings, we have currently a total of £1322 shared between a bank account & a Paypal account. For more details, please visit these two pages: https://friendsofpakati.com/pcs-to-pakati-check-our-progress/ and https://friendsofpakati.com/income-expnditure-monthly-information/

Also, from our previous blog, https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/11/07/%f0%9f%8e%84christmas-is-approaching-some-great-news/ we included the following – “How much do you usually spend on Christmas cards each year, Including postage? £5/$6? £10/$12? More? How about sending an E-Christmas Card instead this year, and donating those £/$ (or more) to us? If so, please use http://Paypal.me/friendsofpakati or email friendsofpakati@gmail.com to let us know if you prefer to pay by other methods. Happy to acknowledge your donation publicly if you wish, or anonymously if you prefer instead.”

Lastly on this topic, I understand from a couple of people I know that there are some donations promised in the next few days – which should tip out total to over £1600!

2. Pastor Aggie Fombo Maravanyika

The Reverend is a long-time friend of Pakati, having attended Pakati Primary school for a time. You can read more about her here: https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/01/06/former-pakati-student-rev-aggie-fombo-part-3-working-with-the-disadvantaged/

I keep an eye on her efforts to help the dusadvantaged in the area if Mutare & Old Mutare, and recently saw this on Facebook, so have already shared it on my timeline:

“Greetings from Mutare, Zimbabwe. It’s now that time of the year again that we remember the less privileged children and old aged from our communities.
I am kindly appealing on behalf of our children with different disabilities, orphans and the old aged for any donations small or big, in cash or in kind. We are collecting the Christmas basket for our less privileged and will hold a Christmas Concert together with the preschool children on 12 December 2021 at Lamour Farm.
Thank you in advance for your love, support and prayers. We love you so much. Rev Aggie Fombo Maravanyika. ❤️❤️🙏🙏”

3. The Author…

I playfully posted the two pics below with the tag ‘Tea hobvu’ which translates as ‘thick tea’ but also ‘strong tea’..

…which lead to a discussion about whether or not that was correct. I argued that strong tea refers to the strength of the flavour, not the thickness of the luquid…a teacher I worked with back in 1989 said if that was right, then maybe it should be ‘tea yakasimba’ – tea with strength😁

Had a nice surprise this week…

..my new T-shirt from The Tean Caro Foundation came through the post – I love it👍

4. Bothwell Riside

Friend, contributor, collaborator, former student at both Pakati schools has been involved with Friends of Pakati for some time now. Here are his thoughts on a particularly challenging time for Form 4 students at Pakati Secondary school:

“November is a month of examinations and I wish to let the students at both schools that with a lot of determination nothing is impossible. The good thing is that an A is an A regardless of where it was obtained.

Bothwell Riside & the Author in September, 2019

O level examinations are like a bridge to life . Without an O level certificate you can rarely pursue any academic education because most polytechnics and colleges require them.”

5. Latest News

Just had a donation confirned! Thank you to John Needham of the Iron Trust (Scunthorpe United supporters group) for buying the sigend framed picture below of former player Billy Sharp, thus donating the fee to Friends of Pakati👍

Much more to come in the next blog frpm here at Friends of Pakati!