Mission

The Trust supports the work of Christian ministry in the UK and Africa and particularly New Growth Ministries (Zimbabwe) and Keegan House the home for orphaned boys at Chinoyi. The work was led for many years by Mr Rob Mackenzie MBE. and Mrs. Hilary Mackenzie MBE.

The Trust board is now Mark Mackenzie, Ben Kasimukire, Noeleen Venter, Willard Dauti  and Dr Nura Isala. Ben and Nura both lived at Keegan House when they were growing up.

UK Trustees : Mr J Marshall(Chair), Dr Sarah Marshall, Mr L Marucchi-Chierro, Mr Callum Whitehall, Mrs Caroline Winterburn

God’s provision When Mark and Ben first took over the running of NGM in 2021, they didn’t know how they would be able to meet the needs of the boys at Keegan Home. We thank God for the progress that He has enabled, in establishing leadership, providing for the physical and mental health needs of the boys, improving access to hospitals and enabling their spiritual growth, mentored by Pastor Willard Dauti. They now love attending a local church. None of this would have been possible without your prayers and generous financial support. We thank God for all of you! Mark says: “We are forever grateful and are now looking to move from the phase of maintaining the boys’ wellbeing to growing their futures.” Read on…! Focusing on education Zimbabwe’s education system was once the best in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, it is now in crisis. Economic collapse, rampant inflation and corruption have all contributed to this. Teachers’ pay is worth about a fifth of its value compared to a few years ago. Children are required by law to attend school, and parents and carers have to pay fees, however the quality of education in state schools is poor and classes may have 50-60 pupils. We have 21 boys at Keegan Home ranging from 3 to 17 years. Mark recently visited the local state schools that the boys attend. He noted that facilities are dilapidated: with bare, earth-floored classrooms which cannot be secured, so the resources that remain are those which are broken or worthless. In March Callum Whitehall, one of our UK trustees, together with his wife Rebecca, a teacher, visited Keegan Home. One of the classrooms Rebecca carried out educational assessments. She found that the boys were keen to learn but were 4-5 years behind the attainment expected for their age in reading and writing and 2-3 years behind in their maths. Understanding English, in which all state teaching is carried out, is a significant hurdle. We are thus planning to set up afterschool teaching at Keegan Home, employing experienced teachers. We will need to raise at least £4060 annually for our primary school level children. We would love it if you wanted to get involved in any of our fundraising events, or alternatively do please feel free to set up your own! If you require any support or publicity materials, please do let us know, contact John Marshall (chair of NGM Trust UK) on marshall.skrinkle@btopenworld.com We know the transformative power of education: having seen some of our boys study and take up professions. Aliyoni has become a lawyer, Bencent (Ben) an accountant and Nura a doctor. Ben and Nura are on the board of NGM in Zimbabwe. All of our boys deserve the chance to fulfil their potential whether academic or not. We are also excited to support one of our alumni, Blessed, who has recently started university, studying social work. We thank you for your continued support which transforms lives in Zimbabwe, and our Lord for His support of all of us The Trustees of New Growth Ministries Zimbabwe and NGMT (UK) If anyone would be interested in sponsoring and praying for Blessed in his studies, please contact us on marshall.skrinkle@btopenworld.com. Blessed all ready for university Rebecca and Callum also took out generous gifts from supporters of learning resources, a parachute and Christian children’s books by Eira Goldsworthy who is one of our supporters. Thanks to you all! Lots of fun playing with a parachute! Save the dates! Supporters’ prayer meeting It is so encouraging to meet with you all online at our prayer meetings. Our next Zoom call will be on: Tuesday 6 th June 7pm UK time, 8pm South African time. We will send out a Zoom link nearer the time. Mark and Ben will be giving updates from the ministry and it will be an opportunity to pray for the needs of the boys at Keegan House. Mark and Ben visit the UK Mark and Ben will be visiting the UK for a couple of weeks in July. Do please let us know if you would like them to visit your church! Our main event will be An Afternoon with NGM on Saturday 15th July at St Mark’s Church, Kensal Rise, Northwest London which is accessible by public transport. Mark and Ben will be speaking and we would love to see as many of you as possible there. More details to follow. For those of you who live near Sussex, do please join us for a fundraising Barn Dance on Friday 21st July at 7-10pm at Bishop Hannington Church Hove. We have an excellent caller and live ceilidh band and it promises to be great fun. Tickets are free, but it would be great if you would consider giving a donation. More information in due course. Please invite your friends! Mark and Ben will be speaking during the interval. Prayer Points Thank you for playing an essential part of the ministry by praying. Please pray for: • Thanksgiving for where the ministry is now – God’s provision and protection. • For the Lord to help us find the right teachers & funding for our after-school program. • For our boys’ futures to come alive through education. • For God’s continued provision for Keegan home which runs at a loss each month And finally…. As part of the assessment Rebecca asked the boys to write about Keegan house. One wrote: “I like to live in Keegan House because I have everything I want and our brothers Mark and Ben pay money at school and buying uniforms and clothes for us. …I am here because I need to be someone in future. When I grow up I want to be a doctor. I want to thank you for everything that you did for us. Without you we mean nothing