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Recently I posted the story of a former students of mine now working in London – https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/07/24/from-pakati-to-london-weekend-star-epiphania-chiroodza/ but here I have a different story to tell…

Juliana competing at St Pauls Mission school sports ground, Musami, in 1992. Thanks to Debbie Chadbon for the photo

Today I am delighted to tell the story of her sister Juliana Chiroodza, a genuine sports star during the time I was at Pakati Secondary.school – a student who had a personality to match!

I first came across her in 1989, when she was in Form 2, in a class of around 35 students. In all honesty, and she admits this, Juliana was not academically gifted, but she really shone when it came to sports…here, in her own words, is her story.

Juliana, on the right of the picture, in 1989

“I was born in 1974 and I started my grade 1 up to grade 4 at Rukudzo Primary school in Harare . I started doing sports (100m) at grade 3 when I was 9 years old, and I won a small book called At the Farm.

In 1985 I was transferred to learn in a rural area, and I still remember that the headmaster at Rukudzo Primary refused to give me a transfer letter because of sports, but fortunately I went at Pakati Primary school without the letter.

Juliana (centre, circled in red) seen at her Form 4 Leavers Party, also two of her friends mentioned here are on the far left, Irene Njenje, and Sopia Chiweshe is next to Juliana, partly obscured by the circle

At Pakati Primary I continued with sports, all short events from grade 5 up to grade 7. Grades 5 and 6 I was tauught by Mr K .Mushangwe, then in grade 7 I was taught by Mr Marambakuyana.

In 1988 I did my Form 1, and that’s when I started all sporting activities, including field events such as high jump and long jump. l competed from district level, then up to Provincial level. 1st year at the provincial competition I took 2nd position in 100m, then at National Sports high jump I also took 2nd position. The following year I took 1st position.

Juliana involved in one of her favourite sports – high jump – at Pakati Secondary in 1989

My sports teacher was Mr Mutatapasi. 3rd and 4th year l went to University of Zimbabwe sports grounds, I competed there and came first, and all those years I was given some gold medals and certificates, but my teachers didn’t collect them at Murehwa centre.

Juliana competed in High Jump at the National Sports Stadium in Harare – this is the only picture she has of the occasion

My secondary school teachers were Mr Choga, Chifamba, Kashangura, Chadbon, Walker, Murwira, Mrs Masendo and Mushamba. I was made a Prefect from Form 2 up to Form 4. (Some of those teachers are pictured below)

left to right – back row – Mr Kashangura, Mr Choga and Mr Gororo – front row – Mr Walker,      Mr Nyamauya, Mr Mutatapasi, Mr Murwira & Mr Chirape

My friends at Secondary school were Febbie (she doesn’t remember the surname), Irene Njenje and Sophia Chiweshe. Unfortunately we seperated after school and sadly we are no longer in touch.

Juliana with her daughter Tafadzwa

After Pakati I didn’t pass very well so I went back to Harare and stayed with my sister Eppie, doing some piece-work jobs. Later on I got married to Lovemore Mukahanana and now I have 3 Children and we are living in Stoneridge Park, Harare”

With her son, Simbarashe

First, let me thank Juliana for telling me her story, it is for me a delight to be back in touch after so long. I want to thank her daughter Tafadzwa too for providing the means to contact her, as Juliana does not have a smart phone.

Lastly, I cannot go without saying something about my own memories of Juliana.

I have many very happy memories of my time at Pakati, and many students who I remember. However, a small handful have always stood out for me, and Juliana was always in that small group.

Like so many, she found the funny side in almost everything, but had a laugh louder than anyone else, and I dont remember seeing her other than with a huge smile on her face, just seemingly glad to be alive.

We, the teachers, made her a prefect at the school, as she definitely had the respect of her peers due to her sporting prowess. She had been an exceptional athlete, and I remember veey well watching her compete at Murewa High school during District level sports events.

Coming soon…

I hope to have more stories of former students ready to publish soon, and of course the IT video we have almost completed.

The biggest post to come, this weekend,. is about the event I attended on 7th August on behalf of Friends of Pakati. Here is one sample photo….

Photo courtesy of Deborah Jay Kelly & Andre Holland

I recently had some photos sent to me by Mr Mahachi, Head of Pakati Primary. He had been telling me about some work being done at the school, in particular to the Early Childhood Development (EDC) block.

Mr Mahachi & the Author, September 2019

This was the message he sent to me, in response to a query I had regarding the re-opening of schools:

“We have completed plastering the new ECD block and we are planning to paint it before schools open using Beam funds (a local initiatuve). No official dates yet for reopening. We were just asked to prepare for reopening.”

The work is being done by tradesmen from the local community. Below are the pictures he sent.

He is promising me more when the painting is finished. So far so good though!

 

 

What is this for? Find out below…

Well….Next Saturday, 7th August, I will be going to an event on the outskirts of London, where I am representing and promoting Friends of Pakati.

The event is called ‘Appreciating Positive Change Makers’, and I have been invited to speak briefly about Friends of Pakati. I hope to raise our profile, and also hope to raise some funds for us.

How did we come to be invited? Well, it’s all about connections….First, I have a connection to a lady called Magdalene Lafontant. She owns the business called Nakai Skin Care – one of our sponsors – see here https://www.nakaiskincarecosmetics.com

Maggie knows the next connection – Auntiey Mimiey, who invited me onto her live facebook event a few weeks ago to talk about Friends of Pakati.

Well, one of the (many) connections I made from this was to the Team Caro Foundation who have also become a sposnor – read all about them here https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/06/13/great-new-support-welcome-to-the-teamcaro-foundation/ – and were instrumental in getting us invited. Team Caro’s Caroline Zimano will be the MC of the event. I will report on it all next weekend & post further updates & photos afterwards.

With the event now imminent, I have been busy getting merchandise ready to sell, and also organised the new banner in the photo at the top of this post. The newest merchandise for Friends of Pakati I can now reveal – is T-shirts!

Here is what they look like! This one below is 2XL size, the largest of the 5 sizes available. On sale now for £15 + p&p. We will have some to sell at the event, as well as some of our mugs, coasters, key rings and badges.

The 2XL fits the author well…..

If you would like to order, please email friendsofpakati@gmail.com with your name, contact phone number & full postal address. Sizes available are S, M, L, XL & 2XL. Also looking at Polo shirts if there is demand for them.

Looking forward to Promoting Friends of Pakati!

Wow. It is just amazing how things are a bit quiet for a while, then Bang! One thing leads to another….First, I hear from a man called John Tsinya, living here in the UK. I taught two of his siblings, and I hope to tell both of their stories soon. Next, I find he has passed a photo from our Instagram page (@friendsofpakati) of one of my former students, on to her sister who also lives in the UK – and I taught her too! This then, is the first of at least four new profiles being published.

It is therefore literally just in these last few days that I have been re-united with Epiphania Chiroodza online, only to discover she has been living, studying and working here in the UK for the last 19 years! So this is the story of how she came from Pakati to London…

Epiphania in a recent photo near where she now lives, on the outskirts of London, UK

I am absolutely delighted to introduce Epiphania, someone I remember from my first days at Pakati Secondary school, not least because she was in my first Form 4 (O level/GCSE) Maths class in 1989. I remember her as a bright, inquisitive girl, and someone who was easy to speak with. She was not as shy to talk in class as some were, having a good measure of self confidence about her…this is what she has told me recently…

“I did my primary school grade 1-6 in Harare, at Rukudzo Primary school in Kambuzuma, where I lived with my family. My father took early retirement, and I then spent five years living in Chiremba village with my parents and siblings. My parents were then peasant farmers.

As a result, I attended Pakati Primary school in 1985 where I completed my grade 7, then I attended Form 1 to Form 4 at Pakati Secondary school until the end of 1989. That was the year Mr Walker had joined the staff at Pakati Sec.

The school was totally different, as I was coming from the city to a rural area. It was also an environment shock! The distance I used to walk going to school to Pakati it was ten times more than in the city. I had to learn to adjust and adapt to the new environment I was living in. I did enjoy growing up there though, and had lots of cousins and relatives around. I have learnt the hard ways of life, and this has built resilience in me. Any challenges and situations right now I can confront them with no fear.

Staying in the countryside has made me a stronger person, and I learned to appreciate what I have. I left for the city after my O-level, and worked for a couple of years. I also had a family, with 2 children. I then left Zimbabwe in September 2002 when I had an opportunity that came my way to come to England.

I grabbed that opportunity straightaway.

Epiphania by the River Thames

In England life was not that easy, with culture shock it meant once again learning to adjust. Weather wise – British weather was another issue – when it’s cold it’s very cold, snowing and raining. Everything in England is very fast, and you have to learn to adapt quickly. There were times I felt home sick and missing my mum’s cooking and my siblings…and the Zimbabwean weather!

Fortunately, I found work in the health and social care sector, and I later went to college. I gained a Diploma in Health and Social Care, which then led me to further my education. I went to London South Bank University and studied BSC (Hons) in Mental Health Nursing. I am currently working as a Registered Mental Health Nurse in a psychiatric hospital (NHS) in London.

Therefore, I say never stop dreaming because one day your dream will come true, and always follow your dreams. The sky is the limit. I never knew, when I was at Pakati, that I will end up here in the UK, but fate took me here, and I have achieved a lot in my life which for which I am very grateful”.

Epiphania on a recent visit to Edinburgh

It has been a real pleasure for me, chatting to Epi for the first time in over 30 years! It has taken us back down memory lane, and there is much more to come I am sure…one of those things to come is the profile of her younger sister, Juliana, who I also taught. It was her photo on Instagram that was the catalyst for me being in touch with so many others from Pakati… this picture below, of Juliana competing in high jump, which had been taken by, and sent to me, by Debbie Chadbon.

Juliana Chiroodza, competing at St Pauls Mission Sports Stadium, Musami, in 1992

My thanks go to John Tsinya for getting the ball rolling, and to Epiphania for reminding me of good times…

 

 

 

 

 

I have just heard from Stuart Pine, IT Manager at The Stephenson Group Ltd of Horsforth, Leeds – our principal donors of computers – about what they now have available for us

I had just completed an interview with my local newspaper here in Bradford – the Telegraph & Argus – about my recent heart problems. They gave me an opportunity to talk about Friends of Pakati, and we will get some great publicity from it very soon.

Stuart with the Author, donating the first set of IT to Friends of Pakati in 2019 at the premises of the Stephenson Group

Soon after the interview I heard from Stuart. Here is the message he sent me: “Just for Info Chris, I have 18 computers of varying sizes for the schools but all good enough to run Windows 10 and some form of Office software, a few more than I originally thought.”

First time for the IT equipment at Pakati to be used from The Stephenson Group’s donation in 2019

A little later on I took a phone call from Stuart. He was able to give me a bit more information about things, including the fact that he thought it may as many as 20 computers available quite soon. He is going to send some photos of them next week, along with the short piece to camera we need to complete our second video, so all of that will be out soon!

Stuart seen relaxing on a family holiday

We had the pleasure to talk with Stuart earlier this year – see https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/02/06/interview-with-stuart-from-the-stephenson-group-ltd-our-it-donors/ for more information.

For us here at Friends of Pakati, this is fantastic news – it is really what we are all about – getting computers to both Pakati schools!! Also this will give us a real lift, an impetus to raise more funds to help ship them out to Pakati schools. The forthcoming publicity I mentioned, coupled with the event I am due to attend on 7th August – see https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/06/16/appreciating-positive-change-makers/ for more details, although the original date & venue was moved. It is now on 07/08/21 at the Brooklands Hotel.

There is much to look forward to for us  including those things mentioned here recently – https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/07/11/want-to-know-what-is-coming-up/ What we really need now is to raise more money to help pay to ship the equipment out to Zimbabwe, and if we have enough left over, try to meet our other objectives found here https://friendsofpakati.com/2020-vision-friends-of-pakati-the-project-continues/

So, if you can, please donate via http://Paypal.me/friendsofpakati or http://gofundme.com/friends-of-pakati THANK YOU!!

Friends of Pakati is now into its 31st month online, and still going strong! In spite of everything – including the Author’s recent health scare (see https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/07/08/from-the-author-thank-you-to-the-nhs/ ) we continue to find new people to introduce, new stories to tell.

We have some new material to post soon, and a number of new stories promised. We have some new publicity on the way. We have new merchandise being produced. We have an event to attend to spread the word. Briefly, therefore, below is a summary of what is coming up in the next few weeks:

▪︎Firstly, I have heard from a sibling of one of my former students, Hatipedzi Tsinya (pictured below), whose brother John is currently living in the UK. I am waiting for the chance to tell her story, and that of her family. I taught her & her brother Lawrence, and was Acting Head for their younger sister Dadirai, who was in Form 1 in 1991.

▪︎I am absolutely assured that our second video will be completed very soon & released/published soon after

▪︎Just this last few days I have done a wide-ranging interview with a journalist from the local newspaper from my home town of Scunthorpe. We discussed my health scare, my support for Scunthorpe United, and of course, Friends of Pakati. Likely to be published in next week’s Scunthorpe Telegraph.

▪︎I am also waiting for one of The Team Caro Foundation – Lynne – to write her story for us. Find out more about Team Caro here https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/06/13/great-new-support-welcome-to-the-teamcaro-foundation/

▪︎New merchandise has been ordered through a new provider, and we are adding t-shirts to our range. More badges have also been ordered.

▪︎Lastly, there is the event I hope to attend on 7th August at Brooklands Hotel, not far from Heathrow Airport. I will be giving a brief speech about who we are & what help we need. Hoping to be well enough by then to attend, even if its not the full event. Dr MamboKadzi Tsitsi, organiser, said this:

“I figure, if you want to be who you want to be, you should go ahead and be one. We need people who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be…As a positive change maker – I have no country, I want no country. As a humanitarian/positive change maker my country is the whole world, I have chosen to no longer be apologetic for my Humanity. And I want to be respected in all of it. See you Brooklands Hotel & Spa WOPI – Appreciating Positive Change Makers 7 August 21 http://www.womenofpurpose.me.uk/tickets ”

I am sure there will be a lot of things to say after this event! I will report in full on my return home.

Half way through this 3rd year I feel there is still much we can do to help Pakati schools, nit just in terms of our original aim of getting some computers to them. If you can help us, please do by contacting friendsofpakati@gmail.com or donate to http://paypal.me/friendsofpakati Thank you!

I thought I would let people know about what has happened to me in recent days, and how it is likely to affect Friends of Pakati. This is also an expression of my gratitude to the NHS, the National Health Service here in the UK.

 

Well, here is the story….some of you may already be aware of it from my personal social media posts over the last week.

Saturday night, 3rd July. 10.30pm, after the England match against Ukraine. I went to bed, but started to feel pain in the centre of my chest, with discomfort as I lay down trying to sleep. Around 2am it hadn’t improved, but after a couple of paracetomol, managed a few hours sleep.

Sunday morning, 4th July. Woke up around 7am, still in pain. It went on, not horrendous pain, but constant, affected mostly with my heartbeat. I decided that at age 63, chest pain usually means one thing: heart problems. So I got up, tried to eat but could only manage a small amount of breakfast. I showered & dressed, & everything I did took time. I felt the pain throughout across the centre of my chest only, and around 9am walked slowly to the nearest taxi rank & went to our local hospital – Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) – and entered the Accident & Emergency section. It took around 30-odd minutes to get seen at reception, then sat & waited to be called.

Thankfully not many others were there, so I was seen in Triage, and soon after I was called for an ECG to assessy heart briefly. Clearly it indicated a problem, & I was taken to the High Dependency Unit (HDU), where further tests suggested a serious problem. They contacted the hospital in Leeds 12 miles away where immediate relevant treatment was available. By 4.30pm I was in their Coronary Care Unit (CCU). A theatre was available, and after an Ultrasound scan showed one of my heart valves was not pumping properly, they explained it indicated a likely blockage in an artery.

This was confirmed during an Angiogram. This lead to a common procedure, done while I was awake. Only a local anasthetic needed, and the team told me what was going on throughout. They found 3 different blockages, over 2 arteries. It required a stent being placed in each one, then expanded to open up the arteries to allow blood to flow more normally again.

All was completed in around an hour or so. I was kept in the CCU overnight, then sent back to BRI for observation & monitoring on Monday 5th July. Gradually over those 2 days the monitiring & observations reduced as I moved away from danger. I was released on Wednesday,  7th July.

Home. On my birthday! In spite of the health scare of a heart attack, I felt pretty good to be honest. The pain & discomfort were gone, and apart from tiredness & plenty of new medication, things were mostly normal!

Of course nothing will be the same in reality. Diet, exercise, lifestyle will need to change for me. I can deal with that. Everything will be done to ensure the chances of a repeat are massively reduced.

So, my personal life is going to have to adapt. But, without the amazing NHS, it could have been a very different story…so I would like to repeat my thanjs the the NHS in general, and to the staff at both BRI & LGI who treated me with such care & professionalism a huge THANK YOU!!!!!👏👏👏👏

I believe – thankfully – that this should not affect Friends of Pakati at all, as there are several things already almost ready to publish. Also as I continue to recover in the coming weeks, I hope to be able to do all the things I have planned. Including the event on 7th August. I aim to be there, even if it is for a shorter tine than planned. Plesse keep supporting us!

 

Welcome back to the second entry in our new series, choosing a photo from the archives & explaining it in more detail. Here is the photo chosen this time:

This picture was taken in September 2018, not long before the end of a brief holiday in Zimbabwe. At the time this was taken, I hadn’t been back to the school – Pakati Secondary – since 1992.

I was about to revisit the school, and was feeling a bit nervous if I am honest, not knowing if I would be remembered at all, or welcomed…

Well, I should not have worried!

My friend and driver – Felix – accompanied me and took many of the photos shown on here from the afternoon we spent at Pakati. He made sure things went well, as I met the (still current) Head of Pakati Sec, Mr Mugove Chifaka – see the second picture above.

We spent some time in his office, and he said he had heard about me, but didn’t think I existed! He gradually brought in some if the staff to introduce me, and had some photos taken in the staffroom…

I was then shown around the school, accompanied by Mr Chifaka, Mrs Pindura (Deputy Head), Mr Chizena & Mrs Munatswa.

It was great to see the developmemts at the school since I had been there in 1989-91, with new buildings, curriculum changes, external decor, and more teachers accommodation. There was even a Car Park!

It was after the walk around the school that the duscussion I had with Mr Chifaka took place which lead to Friends of Pakati coming into being. I asked him what other developments would he like to see at the school, and he said one word – ‘computers’ – and that was all it took!

We discussed what it would mean for the school, and he instantly said we should include the Primary school too – thus Friends of Pakati was born👍, and it ultimately lead to the delivery of the first batch of IT equipment a year later.

I am so glad I revisited Pakati, and am now involved in some way once more. As we say…

 

Here I have an unusual profile, of someone who has become a friend of Friends of Pakati. He has done it almost by accident really…due to him following his particular passion. There came a time in 2019 where our interests overlapped, and we met. Since then, he has played a regular role in supporting our cause by raising funds….how? I hear you ask. Let Simon explain it himself, in the form of an interview I conducted with him recently…meet Simon Faulkner (pictured below with his family)!

Hi Simon! Welcome to Friends of Pakati, and thank you for agreeing to be featured here on the blog. Let me start by asking you about your interest & how it began please?

Hi Chris, no problem. You wanted to know something about my self and my love for football and football shirts! I fell in love with football at an early age, about 4. This photo is of me in my first football kit:

I am sure there is more to your story than that – please do go on!

There is, much more! I met my best mate Mark Lucas when I was 4, and he instantly had me hooked on the game. We would spend hours playing it, and talking about it! I went right through school with Mark up to College. Here we are together in our teams shirts:

Mark & Simon

Already you can see by this time I had grown an interest in football shirts, something of an obsession to this day! Let me explain if I can…

Around about this time I was a regular at Scunthorpe United, and became interested in match worn shirts. I got my first one from an ex-player’s wife, and I have carried on collecting ever since.

My favourite shirt is definitely my 1984 Umbro away shirt (rare as they come) – see the Green & Yellow shirt in the photo above.

Sadly mark passed away a few years ago, I carried on with my interest and have now over 200 Scunthorpe match worn shirts. I drive people mad with my stories of each particular shirt and spend hours looking for photos of them.

So Simon, how did you get involved with Friends of Pakati?

I saw a tweet where somebody had donated a shirt to you. I read up on the charity, and found it very humbling that you are trying to help out in this way.

Some of the shirts which were donated to friends of pakati in 2019 – Simon was instrumental in getting several hundred Pounds (£) for us by trading them. 

I have since started getting more shirts and other memrobillia for Friends of Pakati to sell to raise funds. I think we even managed to get a very rare Wealdstone United shirt a couple of years ago. I intend to carry on collecting while raising money for Chris.

Signed photo of Premier League striker Billy Sharp, tajen during his hugely successful time at Scunthorpe United – recently sold to add to our funds!

My family have been long-suffering and sometimes unwitting partners in my obsession, but my kids are also fans of Scunthorpe United – the Iron as they are known.

Mollie & Freddie in their Iron tops!

Which is your favourite top from a player?

This one! ⬇️

Ex-Scunthorpe United player Julian Broddle with his shirt which he wore v Tottenham Hotspur

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Many thanks to Simon, for this blog, but especially for all the work he has done to raise much-needed funds of Friends of Pakati!👏👏👏👏

 

Both of us are keen Scunthorpe United fans, and we have both been lucky enough at different times to meet the most successful Iron manager (currently manager at Charlton Athletic FC), Nigel Adkins, a very friendly man who still has time for his former club – see the two pics below:

Simon, far left is next to Nigel Adkins & two of Simon’s friends.

The Author with Nigel Adkins at Glanford Park, before the Iron v Sheffield United who Nigel then managed.

• Look out for more stories, profiles, updates & pics/videos to come in the near future here at friendsofpakati.com !

Welcome to our review! Here is our look back at the 6 months up to the end of June 2021. We look at some of our most important and/or successful posts, as well as our progress financially. Also, we take a look at key developments at Friends of Pakati. We start, naturally, in January…

2021 began with the fiirst blog introducing our new merchandise for sale https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/01/03/facebook-post-today-goods-on-sale-soon/ and https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/01/09/friends-of-pakati-merchandise-for-sale/

We also had our most successful individual profile to date, with over 100 views for https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/01/06/former-pakati-student-rev-aggie-fombo-part-3-working-with-the-disadvantaged/

We introduced our aim to raise enough funds to send the computers to Pakati – whenever that may be.. https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/01/24/pcs-to-pakati/ so our finances are looking pretry good so far this year, as can be seen here https://friendsofpakati.com/income-expnditure-monthly-information/

The continuing Coronavirus global pandemic has not left Pakati unaffected, and we have covered its impact more than once… https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/01/22/new-lockdown-affecting-pakati-schools-and-pakati-people/ plus https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/03/03/pakati-chanetsa-mapanga-schools-to-re-open/ and https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/03/25/back-in-full-swing-this-week/

Regarding Friends of Pakati ourselves, there have been some key posts, starting with the interview https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/02/06/interview-with-stuart-from-the-stephenson-group-ltd-our-it-donors/ , while several good things have come from an interview the Author did on facebook, it really starts at 3 minutes in.. https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/04/11/full-video-of-facebook-interview/

Fundraising efforts have been spearheaded by Debbie Chadbon recently, with her bike ride raising £275.00 towards our ever-increasing total – see https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/05/23/success-debbie-pauls-bike-ride-completed/

We have continued to publish profiles of people from Pakati, including these https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/06/06/weekend-star-tinashe-mudzvatangi/ , https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/06/01/meet-our-first-regular-donor-sharlom-chaitika/ and https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/02/14/weekend-star-former-pakati-student-remigio-kubhadya-in-wildlife-protection/

Power supplies have been a frequent topic here, primarily at Pakati Secondary https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/04/01/electricity-fully-restored/ and at Mapanga Primary (a nearby school). We tried to help the raise money for a new solar power installation, and recently saw the results https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/06/10/a-tale-of-two-primaries-part-2/

Perhaps my personal favourite post has been this one… https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/05/05/thank-you-scunthorpe-united-video-from-friends-of-pakati/ because of this video:

Finally, a surprise in mid-June has been the new partnership we have with The TeamCaro Foundation. The blog we posted about their support, and the prospects for more co-operation, was our most successful for over a year, with well over 200 views https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/06/13/great-new-support-welcome-to-the-teamcaro-foundation/

The partnership with The TeamCaro Foundation is already bearing fruit too…I was due to speak on 3rd July at the event below, as briefly mentioned in the blog post above. However, as reported here https://friendsofpakati.com/2021/06/19/friends-of-pakati-hope-for-the-future/ it has been moved to a new date, most likely 7th August. Much more to come about this afterwards…

Confirmed – change of date to 7th August

With a number of things bubbling up in the background, the next 6 months could really bring Friends of Pakati further new & interesting developments! Here is just one such example….Below is a clip from the promised short video about our getting computers to Pakati in 2019… full version out soon!