Catching up with the Albertyn's: A Lot to Celebrate!

There is a lot to catch up on and a lot to celebrate!!! I finished writing this post in April and it is now nearly the beginning of June! Eeeek sorry everyone - so when reading this - keep this in mind!!

Wow – we finished last year with an amazing Prize Giving which was such a lovely opportunity to celebrate our out going Upper Sixth. What a lovely afternoon filled with some incredible moments that will stay with us forever. The 15 did a brilliant speech/song to say good bye and thank you and I am not sure there was a dry eye in the room by the end of it. We were so proud of all of them – particularly Peter who could not speak English when he arrived and left by giving a speech! Even our House Mother Mrs Banga gave a very heart warming speech!! What a joy it was to celebrate these 15 with some of our local sponsors, headmasters, mentors and volunteers present.

We also ended the term with a great Christmas party, where each student received a gift and we played some silly games and had a fabulous BBQ which Mrs Banga and Patricia put together! Opening presents was the highlight for so many of them, especially as for many of them it would be the only present over the Christmas period.

Our hearts were sad as we bid farewell to our pioneer group but we are also excited at what the future holds for them. They will forever hold such special places in our hearts!!

The holiday season was upon us but it was go go go!!! We received 400 applicants and then proceeded to test 80 and had to whittle our way down to 8 to start in January at our 3 partner schools. What a tough, heart wrenching process this was. Mark worked incredibly hard and did numerous testing, interview days with these students. Our aim was to have them choosen before Christmas and we had managed to get down to our final 10 – 2 we would need to drop!!! I had the privilege of doing the home visits with Mrs Banga and Mike our driver. We left Harare at 6am on the Saturday morning and only returned after 7pm that day. We visited 10 families in 5 different townships. What an honour to be in their homes – we did not tell the students that they had definatly got a scholarship when we visited, as 2 of them we would need to heart breakingly drop. It so struck me this day - these are the forgotten heros of this country – people who are struggling to put food on the table, who struggle to pay each month for the one room that their family lives in, families forced to make a plan in such unbelieveable circumstances. Some homes we left incredibly humbled and overwhelmed at all that they were facing and had overcome. What inspirations!!!! One family in particular stood out that day – a child headed home – mum died and father left the family and the older brother has looked after his 5 siblings (the one we were offering a scholarship to being the last born). For the older brother, his youngest brother being accepted onto the scholarship programme means he can now get married, as he was never in a position to pay the brideprice for his girlfriend and will be able to now! Mrs Banga and I sat in their home with tears falling down our faces, we told them how proud we were of them and all they have faced and still face. What a close incredible family and since this young man is in our house now and we have got to know him better, what a great young man!!! The brother told us that this process had given their whole family hope and he was thankful to us even just for the process even if his brother did not get the scholarship. Humbling!!! We could tell numerous stories that will blow your minds but all are deserving and all make us proud. The plight of many Zimbabweans so often weighs heavy on my heart and I wish we could do so much more!

We had a week to get uniforms sorted and the new 8 settled into their new schools. As always this settling process is hard. It is such a huge cultural adjustment for the students on a social level, as well as educational – so is exhausting and testing for them. They have all been amazing and it has really helped to have our Upper Sixth students around for moral support at the 3 schools. We have also loved having all our students fit into the boarding house and Mrs Banga has begun to feel like she is getting to know all the students better.

It has been an extremely busy term for all 16 students, juggling school work and co-curricular stuff. It is wonderful to see the students immerse themselves in sports and clubs in the schools they attend and really excel at some of these things. I have also seen them really push themselves beyong what is comfortable to broaden their views, experiences etc. They have all made us proud this term. Mark attended a few parents evenings for the Upper Sixth students and they are doing so well!!! The staff all speak so highly of them.

We were thrilled with the A-level results our pioneer 15 students achieved. They obtained 24 A*, 12 A, 7 B, 4 C and 1 D. we feel these results reflect the incredible hard work they put into their work over the two years. Ryan and Destiny have been offered full scholarships to study in the States and we are so pleased at this amazing opportunity - thank you Mrs Mano for making this a reality for them. Mercia is working for an investment company who are paying for her degree while she works. All the other students are applying for scholarships and we will find out shortly what the outcomes of these are. The current Upper Sixth also achieved such good results for their AS-level examinations. They are all working so hard towards their end of year exams this year.

We had a wonderful Saturday trip to Mukuvusi Woodlands, a little game park situated in Harare. This was a first for all our students to experience the bush and wild life like this and they did a 2hr game walk which they all thoroughly loved. We had invited our pioneer 15 to join us too and it was a great reunion for all. Sadly a few of our current students had sporting fixtures so it was not all of us who attended. Matt, Zoe and Ella came a long too and by the end of the morning had all fallen into the pond and were filthy but had had a ball!!!!

We have always know that English is a big priority for us to work on outside of their school work and so this year we have put a few more official English things in place to assist the students with improving oral, written and reading English. We have two wonderful volunteers who are helping us amazingly in this area. Charlotte is running Friday lessons every Friday afternoon, some are compulsory and some are optional. She has been absolutely brilliant, focusing on current afairs, as well as body language, interview technics etc. We also have Rebecca, who is running intense SAT preparation English lessons during these April school holidays for 10 days. We know the students will benefit from this hugely. We have already seen some fruit from this as Lisa came 4^th in a Black History Month Essay Competion. We were so proud of her and she got to attend a prize giving at the US ambassadors house with Mark and Mrs Banga.

Sarah is a wonderful volunteer who spends each Wednesday evening at the boarding house working with the Biology Students. We are so grateful for her time too!

This year has seen a new sponsor come on board! It is MultiChoice Zimbabwe (a bit like Sky TV in England). The sponsor some students as well as donate groceries every month to the boarding house. We can not tell you what a difference these groceries have made to our monthly shopping bill. The thing I love about their sponsorship is that they have such personal contact with the project and have built relationships! They even pop the odd box of chocolates in for the students! Thank you Multichoice. We hope to add to our local sponsors over this coming year.

We have also had two sets of individuals raise money for Makomborero over the last few months. Chris Bloodworth Kayaked in Bahrain for 6 days for Makomborero. Chris you are a beast!! Thank you, thank you!!! Read more here http://www.gulfweeklyworldwide.com/Articles.aspx?articleid=30222

A couple from New Zealand who live in the UK, have cycled for Makomborero! Thank you Bruce and Katie - we don't even know you guys!! Read more about them here - http://www.eastbourne-college.co.uk/Charity-bike-ride - we so look forward to having them in Zim in August.

I have continued to lead bible studies on a Thursday evening and as always love the insight I have got into the students lives. Sean (a pastor from our church) has lead every 3^rd week and the students have thoroughly enjoyed their time with him and the different way he runs the evening. It has been great to share this with him. The students also have the opportunity to go to church on a Sunday evening, a volunteer drives our minibus each Sunday evening.

We have also continued with games evenings once a month with Sian, who continues to lead these so amazingly!!!

We had the opportunity to share with our church this term what Makomborero Zimbabwe does and we had a few of our pioneer students sharing - what a lovely response to this and some great volunteers too!

We will find out about University applications and scholarships over the next month and will feedback where each of our pioneering students will go. We are trusting for scholarships for all of them and are helping with applications where we can. We wish we were in a position to give financial assistance to this too. We do have 3 University of Zimbabwe scholarships to give, these have been so generously donated by a family in the UK. They know who they are!

Personal

Well as you can tell life has been crazy but this year has been so much better than last. Mark was so incredible juggling two full time jobs – I often think back and wonder how he physically did it. Christmas holidays were so incredibly busy with scholarship testing that we only took 5 days off to go away to the mountains for Christmas. Mark has been exhausted this term and I’m sure it is due to the fact that his body is so tired from last year.

I am really proud of him too as he has been made Deputy Head of the school he teaches at and this is a position he so deserves. It has been a learning curve like any new job and keeps him very busy but he is doing so well as he learns the ropes. He is loving his job, though he does miss time in the classroom a little now. He is down to a 60% teaching timetable. So Mark actual role in Makomborero has really reduced this term and he can take on more of a support type role.

Just before Christmas we went to my Aunt’s 60^th Party in South Africa. We spent more days in the car than we did at the party but it was such a wonderful time catching up with family and spending time together. I don’t think we will ever drive to SA at that time of year. The boarder crossings were horrific – 10 hrs waiting in boiling hot sun!!! But the reunion with family was very special and it is the first time in years that all my siblings and my folks were together!!!
The West Granchildren!

Me and my cousin!

We had a wonderful 5 days escape to Chimanimani – so so wonderful to get away from Harare and to a part of the country where not a lot happens!!! Unfortunatly I had terrible flu over that time and so did Ella but it meant we did very little and charged our batteries a little and enjoyed special time as a family - celebrating our Saviours Birth.

We celebrated Ella turning 1 at the beginning of January. What a joy and a delight she is to us! Her name means 'Shining Light' and that is so what she is!!! What a special addition to our family. We love you Ella - your giggles, toddling around, chit chat and super big cuddles!

We also celebrate another little persons birthday in January - Matthew. Wow 5 years of being parents and he is a huge blessing too!!! A very deep thinker who keeps us on our toes with all his questions about life etc. This was our first none Thomas party and we were pleased to be able to have a Cars themed party! Matthew - thank you for all that you add to our lives - your big heart for people, the poor, Jesus and your family! We love you special boy!!!! You make us very proud!!

We feel like we are slowly beginning to establish friendships and slowly find our feet in church. It has taken forever but we continue to trust God in this area!

We have noticed such a difference this term with fitting family time in and are enjoying the Saturdays together and Friday evenings! Towards the end of the term Mark worked a few full weekends but even so it makes for a more normal life and we feel like we can have a bit more of a social life again.

We have had a terrible run of illness and particularly poor Zoe who has had tonsillitis every 2 weeks since July – lots of antibios and a very sick little girl with temps at 40'C for a few days before antibio kicks in every 2 weeks. We took the decision to remove her tonsils a few weeks ago and are thrilled we have done this. She was so brave and was very sore for a week. Sadly all the antibios have masked the fact that she had knocked her root canel out of her front tooth which she broke off in a fall when she was 1. Since the operation she has had a few abcesses and had another root canel and is about to undergo her fourth on the same tooth this Tuesday! She blows us away with her bravery, as has had the last two root cancels done with no pain killers and just puts her hand up when she needs a break! We have a lovely dentist who is a bit puzzled by her tooth! Trusting this will be the last of the tooth saga until it falls out!

Matt also under went an operation in December for a hernia to be fixed in his groin – he too was very brave and we were so impressed with his surgeon and the care Matt received. Matthew was a very gentle, quiet patient!! What a pleasure!

The kids generally have been really unwell, as have I and this has taken strain on us but I think we are entering a season of being well again!!!

We are so excited we will be in the UK for the month of August. Lots to happen before then but we can’t wait to catch up with friends and family!!! We don’t know how we will fit everything in but we will try our best!!! A few dates to put in your diaries and let us know if you can come!!

· Sunday 11^th August – a picnic catch up in Sidcup with our church family and friends in that area

· Tuesday 13^th August – evening up in London – venue to be confirmed – to meet up with friends and past students of Mark’s

· Friday 23^rd August – drinks from 7pm at our place we will be staying at Benenden School – open to anyone but will probably be mainly benenden staff and friends who live in the area.

So if any of these dates catch your eye – we would love to see you there. Pop us an email and we can fill you in on details closer to the time!!

The kids are very settled into the new school year. Matt and Zoe are now at the same school and they are thrilled about this and so love playing together when they get a chance. They had an Easter concert at the end of term and they both so loved taking part. Zoe was the loudest singer out of 90 kids and I was laughing so much the tears were rolling down my face! Too sweet! Matt has his assessment for school this next term and we find out what school he has been accepted into for Year 1. Eeek – we trust God on this one! Here is a picture of them as chicks at their Easter Concert!

It is holidays at the moment (2^nd term starts tomorrow) but Mark been working very hard on work and a few other bits. We had a few days off camping in the mountains with 8 other families and had a total of 19 children – it was crazy but such good fun and the kids all had a ball!!! Sadly Ella got badly burnt by a cup of tea on the first night – not fun dealing with these things in the middle of no where and in the dark with no electricity but God was amazing as we were surrounded by people who had everything you could possibly need to treat burns! So thankfully we could sit tight and not travel a few hours to the nearest hospital – we had special burn dressings which we dressed her with twice a day and we were amazed at how fast she healed. I realise if we had been in the UK she would have been hospitalised. So needless to say my first aid kit is now fully kitted out for burns. Amazing what you need in Africa when you go camping!!! Other than that the campsite was idilic and we took the whole campsite over – beautiful views over Mozambique and torrential rain one night! Kids are so happy when they are in the middle of no where!!! My heart is always full when I camp!!!

Mark’s folks also visited from South Africa for a few days and it is always good to have them stay and for the kids to reconnect with them!!

Amongst all the craziness of life we decided to sell our flat in Harare which we bought when we lived in the UK and through a number of sources have got a mortgage and have bought a house! We feel so incredibly blessed and our mortgage repayments are just more than our rent!! Our flat also appreciated in value incredibly in the 7 years we owned it!!! We also sold our flat in 2 days – no joke!!!! So we move in September and are soooooo thrilled and our new house has water!!!!!!!! We have never lived in something we have owned so we can’t wait!! We had to make a crazy 2 day trip to South Africa to sign papers for the house and my folks so wonderfully looked after the kids – we drove 1700km in two days – did shopping and camped one night at a hot springs and spent only 5 hours crossing the borders!!!

I love having the kids around and enjoy the more lazy starts in the mornings during holiday time. Ella is growing up so much and is a real little person who talks, walks and chatters away. She is a climber – so keeps me on my toes!!! She learnt to climb into the tree house before she could walk – so I knew back then my work was cut out for me!! She is an incredibly cuddly little girl and I relish every cuddle with her. I find juggling work and the kids a challenge at times but have decided to avoid the stress of both I work at night only now and do the odd thing during the day if I have to!

It is my favourite time of year entering winter and the days are just gloriously sunny and warm (not hot) and the nights are chilly!!! May and August have to be the best months of the year in this country in my opinion!!!

So until next time – which should be sooner I bid you all farewell!!!

A few extra photos!
A proud mummy at Zoe's end of year concert! 2012