Major Mereki's visit November 2007

Mr Major Mereke, the administrator of the Chidamoyo Christian Hospital in northern Zimbabwe was visiting Crowthorne at the invitation of the Chidamoyo Trust, the Crowthorne based charity which supports the work of this hospital.

On morning of Wednesday 31st October he gave a talk to the Sixth Form at St Mary's school Ascot. His talk was so interesting that the girls gave him their undivided attention. They were motivated by what the had to say and asked stimulating questions. One of the teachers remarked that his talk could be the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship between the school and the charity.

That evening he went along to an informal gathering of Reading Roadrunners at Palmer Park Stadium to thank them for the money they had raised in 2005 for the refurbishment of the hospital laboratory. New equipment purchased with their money was already in use. The Reading Roadrunners were delighted to hear what he had to say. Many remarked that although they raise large sums of money for many big charities, this was the first time anyone had ever visited them to say thank you!

At the Curry and Rice supper held at the Roman Catholic Church in Sandhurst on Saturday night, after he had shown a very informative presentation about the needs of the hospital, someone asked what he would want if he could be granted just one wish. He thought for a while - many of us thought he might wish for a solution to the political problems of his country - but he said he would like an industrial washing machine. He explained that all of the soiled linen of this 85 bed hospital which sees over 300 patients a day, is washed by hand! Raising the £10,000 needed for this washing machine will be the next project for the Chidamoyo Trust. The aim is to purchase it by June, 2008.

On Sunday 3rd of November, he preached at the 10 o'clock service at St John's Church in Crowthorne. All the congregation were expecting an appeal for money. Instead we heard a challenging sermon encouraging us to love those about us. He didn't mention the needs of the hospital at all! He had been told that he should only speak for 10 minutes and that he should make some reference to the Scripture readings.

At the Youth meeting at the Baptist Church on Sunday night when talking about the differences between life in the West and life in Zimbabwe, he said that he noticed a big difference in our attitude to time. Time rules our lives. Everything has to be done to schedule. In the bush a task takes as long as it takes. People are more important than time.

When someone asked how people managed with so little money, he pointed out that many people in the rural areas of Zimbabwe have no money at all and yet they are happy. They share their resources and look after each other. Quite a contrast to our material existence!

On the morning of the 6th of November, the day he was leaving to return to Zimbabwe, he managed to join in the service at the Crowthorne Methodist Church to say thank you to the ladies who raise money with their morning teas, some of which has gone to Chidamoyo.

It was a pleasure and a privilege to have him visit us.