Zimbabwe
MISS Katie Macaulay is expected home in Scotland towards the end of December, DV. Miss Norma MacLean will be due leave in the spring of 1996, if all is well. Miss Marion Graham is in great need of assistance. One can imagine the responsibility of having 600 boarders on the Mission, ordering food, seeing to their general health and well-being and interviewing the parents when difficulties arise, as well as seeing that the standard of teaching and discipline is maintained.
The John Tallach School has had an excellent record for good examination results and also for firm discipline. Marion, of course, has been ably assisted by Katie Macaulay and Norma MacLean and a fine African staff. The general atmosphere is one of happy and harmonious co-operation in the daily tasks. We can recommend the work to any young people interested in promoting the cause of Christ in Zimbabwe.
We heard with interest that Mr Sibanda, lately retired from the police force in Bulawayo, has offered his services as boarding master in the John Tallach School. Mr Sibanda is a former pupil of Ingwenya School and has been a regular attender of the services in Bulawayo. His wife is a member there. We hope that if this appointment goes through, Mr Sibanda will be a strong and able helper in the boarding school and a good influence.
Dr Stamps, referred to previously as Minister of Health, told the staff at Mbuma Hospital how much he appreciated the good work done at Mbuma over the years. He fully sympathised with the difficulties of staff shortage but was doubtful if the situation would improve as far as African trained staff were concerned. Young African men and women feel the isolation of Mbuma a great disadvantage and prefer the city. They also had a visit at Mbuma from the Senior Provincial Medical Officer, Mr Mthamo, a former pupil at Ingwenya, whose grandfather was an elder there in the days of the Rev John Tallach. He is a pleasant, approachable man, and he referred with affection to two of his former teachers at Ingwenya, Mrs Margaret Macleod, Harris, and Miss Cathie Mary MacIver, now in London. It is disappointing to hear that Mr Mthamo does not attend church services while in Bulawayo.
One of the staff at Mbuma writes, “We have a fine African staff here at Mbuma. They are not trained, but they take on all the nursing duties without complaint. We have four church members on the female staff, and five on the male staff. The two youngest male members, both as to age and membership, are the most active in Christian duties. They are very anxious to read any good religious literature and try to pass on what they read in little Sindebele lessons for the many children who run around the hospital, waiting for their parents who may be receiving treatment. The two young men are Thembelani Ncube and Simon Ngulube. Thembelani was brought up in the Church; his grandfather was an elder in Mpakama. The other young man’s grandfather was Paul Magaya Ncube whose photograph is in the biography of the late Rev James Fraser. He is holding his bicycle and his words are recorded, ‘The whole reserve will be lit up with the glory of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.'”
“We are so thankful to have the photocopier as the two young men mentioned are constantly bringing material to type or to put through the photocopier to be used in their missionary efforts. Many African adults come to the hospital for long periods for treatment for TB. Sister Anne is mostly at work in Isolation and she tries to get these patients to memorize the catechism as they sit around for hours doing nothing. Relatives and “grannies” join in and seem to enjoy the exercise. Many of the older women cannot read but the others help them. They are mostly AIDS patients who have no resistance to such illnesses as TB. Anne has asked Milton Ndlovu to help among the Isolation patients. (Milton is a half-brother of the late David and they were close friends.) What we really need is an evangelist who would be wholehearted in this work among those poor people. We hope the people at home will be remembering us all in prayer.” This is an excerpt from a letter from one of the Sisters.
Kenya
It was reassuring to hear that Rev and Mrs Neil Ross hope to remain in Kenya untill Mr and Mrs Ian MacLean and family arrive in January, DV. This will be a great help for Sisters Celia and Truus.