MFA Principal, Charlie Watt writes:
In 1999 to 2000 we were working in a Bible college in Ndola. While we were there we got to know some of the local people of Ndola and the surroundings and were so challenged by the poverty and the unemployment that affects the town. (Ndola used to have 64 factories, now there are only 12 left.) We saw so many young men and women sitting at home doing nothing, not able to go on to higher education because of cost and lack of opportunities.
It was then that we asked the Lord to show us how and where we could start a college educating the locals in motor mechanics. He also showed us that He wanted the project to have a long lasting impact on the community with whom we were going to work.
In January 2000 our (then) pastor from Milford Baptist Church, David Sutcliffe, came to visit us in Zambia. He encouraged us to pursue the vision.
We then started to pray that we may find the right property where we could start building the college for Mechanics for Africa. After a few months of looking around Ndola, we found a place 5 km from Ndola town. It has 10 acres and a 3 bedroom house; just what we had been praying for.
MFA Administrator, Sharonne Watt, takes up the story:
In March 2002 Charlie & I arrived in Ndola. The task was overwhelming, but our God is bigger then any mountain that we had to climb. In the May of 2002 we started digging the foundations for the college building, we employed 12 local people and in August 2002 we had a team of 12 people coming from the UK under the Soapbox organization, to come and work alongside our staff for 3 weeks.
In January 2003 we opened the college. Even though the college building was not totally complete, we were able to start training our first intake of 16 students in motor mechanics.
Since the beginning of the Mechanics for Africa project, Charlie & I have been praying and asking the Lord to send us trustworthy and honest staff to work alongside us. We started recruiting senior staff in the November of 2002. Since then we have found the most wonderful and trustworthy staff.
Luke Lubemba our first senior lecturer left us in April 2003. He was ably replaced by Nash Lungu. Fanwell Nshimbami is our motor mechanic and practical instructor. Emmanuel Sikaundi is our storeman (although he actually carries out many more duties than his job title suggests!). Sydney Nshingano our original Pastor and Spiritual Guidance leader also left us, and has been replaced by Pastor Chibanda. They have all showed such commitment and integrity that again we have much to thank the Lord for.
The students start their college day at 8:00am with the first part of the day spent on learning the theory of motor mechanics, while the afternoon sessions are spent in the workshop in practical study. At 10:00 they all have a tea break, and at 12:30 we give them a nutritious lunch which consists of mealie meal (the Zambian staple food) with beans, fish or green vegetables.
We offer our students a two year course, at the end of which they graduate with a Diploma from City & Guilds International in Motor Vehicle Engineering.
Although Mechanics for Africa is aiming to train young Zambians in motor mechanics, the project has an holistic approach. We also educate our students in real life issues such as health and hygiene, balanced diet, agriculture, basic computing and some simple bookkeeping and business skills. We also employ a full time Zambian pastor who teaches and disciples the students in the Christian faith. We ourselves also spend time with the individuals discipling them and encouraging them to live life according to the word of God.
One of our tasks was to be able to offer good study books to our students. We were donated a lot of good mechanics and Christian books, which we sent out in our container from the UK.
The team also helped us to move the container that arrived from the UK the summer before with all our staff and loaded with tools and machinery for the workshop. It used to be by our house, and we moved it down by the college. They painted it and put the MFAZ logo on it. It all looks really good.
In the May of 2003 we opened the workshop for commercial work as a ring-fenced activity. We have not been advertising ourselves, yet we seem to be busy with plenty of vehicles which need servicing, fixing and looking at.
The commercial side of the project is gaining greatly in momentum, and is a big support to the running costs of the college.
Through the years we have seen real changes in many of our students’ and staff’ lives. We know that through giving them skills and education, we are helping them to regain their dignity, to support their families, but most of all to live life with the knowledge that there is hope and the ability to be able to achieve their dreams.
We are also able to get involved in our local church in various ways. For example we held a "Couples Seminar" at the college in August. Below is a picture of some of the participants. The afternoon was a great success, and many of those attending commented that the Christian (note please that I haven't put "Western"!!) viewpoint of marriage differs in some important areas from the African/Zambian viewpoint. We have repeatedly been asked for further seminars to be arranged.