Mitongwe is buzzing with ‘New’ events!
A ‘New’ Year greets us as we step into 2025. Mitongwe is constantly buzzing with ‘New’ events, while also building on the successful and productive efforts of previous years. Let’s take a look!
Our team was blessed to receive a donation of children’s clothing, from the container we sent some time ago. This inspired them to organize a late Christmas celebration for the kids. This ‘New’ event included decorations, delicious food, games, and, naturally, ‘New’ outfits for all!
Community
The children weren’t the only ones to receive Christmas celebrations in the ‘New’ year. A recent volunteer was motivated to organize and fund a Christmas Dinner for our Staff and Casual workers. This meant 150 people! It was such a ‘New’ experience for them all, one they thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you, Ken!
Our community at Mitongwe also includes a Government Primary School, which amazingly has about 1000 children and 10 teachers. The last year before High School would be Standard 8, and these fortunate teens were given a motivational talk by two of our exceptional leaders Carol and Kingsley. Having struggled to achieve their goals, these two hope to encourage the teens to stay focused, and disciplined, and keep their goals strong to pave the way for success. The session included a ‘New’ goal-setting exercise in which the students identified their aspirations and the challenges hindering success. Go, Carol and Kingsley!
The much-needed rains have finally come, allowing for the grass-planting process to continue smoothly on the ‘new’ly developed soccer fields.
Faith
Our Senior Feeding Program was resumed in November and will continue for the next few months, providing food to help seniors until their next harvest. Every two weeks we get to spend time with these wonderful members of our community and enjoy their smiling faces.
A ‘New’ program has begun where our leadership team visits each of our Seniors to assess their circumstances and maintain contact. They have been thankful for what they are learning about each precious one, and how any further needs could be met.
Farm
Let's think about what we take for granted, like instant water, hot water and skilled technicians. When our water pump failed at Mitongwe it became a careful, backbreaking, 3-day repair job involving dozens of staff and now ‘New’ experts. The heavy pump had to be carefully removed from the deep borehole, the pipe couldn't be broken so was passed down the line of helpers. It was amazing to see the cooperation and ingenuity at work, and the repair job was successful! Good work team.
There are some ‘New’ jobs on our Mitongwe Farm, jobs you may not be familiar with, jobs like "Cow Urine Collection". The urine is necessary as an ingredient in the "Microbial Soup" that is used as fertilizer on the crops, so collection is necessary. There you go. You may still have questions about this, but that's all I'm going to say. Just know that the cows don't care one way or the other, and the crops thrive.
Our ‘New’ wormery is now set up and we are busy making lids for the bins in preparation for adding the worms. Meanwhile, the rain continues to fill the bins. This is creating a ready mixture, we can drain the liquid which will become a "fertilizer enhancer" and a base for pesticides needed on the crops. Oh, the thrill of natural processes and results.
Our ‘New’ wormery is now set up and we are busy making lids for the bins in preparation for adding the worms. Meanwhile, the rain continues to fill the bins. This is creating a ready mixture, we can drain the liquid which will become a "fertilizer enhancer" and a base for pesticides needed on the crops. Oh, the thrill of natural processes and results.
Our field plantings for this year have officially started, with ‘new’ maize and sorghum being the first crops to be sown.
