Northiam

Hist & Lit: On Tuesday, Northiam and District Historical and Literary Society will have a talk from Mike Smith on Tom Crean – Unsung hero of the Antarctic Expedition. Meetings are held in Northiam Village Hall at 7.30pm.

Coffee Stop: On Wednesday mornings the kettle goes on in the Church Centre and “everything stops for tea” – or coffee and a chat. All welcome between 10am and noon.

Thursday Seniors: Thursday Seniors’ Club meets every Thursday in Northiam Village Hall from 10.30am until 2.30pm. All pensioners are welcome, and free door to door transport can be arranged for anyone in Northiam, Beckley, Peasmarsh and Broad Oak if you are on the Rye Community Bus route. The cost is £7 and includes welcome tea/coffee, a freshly cooked 2 course meal, extend chair exercises and a talk/entertainment. Call Joan 252568, Jane 252973 or Linda 252283 to find out more as a member or a helper.

Jumble Sale: Northiam Village hall Trust will be holding a Jumble Sale on Saturday 30th January, starting at 2.30opm. Donations of jumble can be left at the Hall between 10am and midday on the day of the sale, or contact Marie Edwards (01797 253264) to make alternative arrangements.

Chitiwiri News: Sally Bickersteth has sent an exciting update about Chitiwiri to share:

Last July, when I visited Chitiwiri, I used the money that had been fundraised to go and buy equipment for the kitchen so that they could run a feeding programme during January to March, which is the time of year when there is extreme hunger. Because of the lack of rain and the fact that all the wells had dried up and the only source of water for 200 households was one borehole, the irrigation system could not be used for farming. As a result, the community wasn’t able to grow food to store for the feeding programme as was hoped. Everything was set up and the women had decided on a cooking rota. There are 5 main villages around Chitiwiri and each of these villages would provide women who will volunteer for one day each week. This has all been agreed by the feeding programme committee and in consultation with the group village head men. Because I felt that it was so important to get this project going and because there is so much hunger at the moment I used some of the fundraised money to buy maize. It costs approximately £10 to feed 500 children for a day.

I have received some fabulous and heartwarming photos this week showing the feeding programme up and running. Nearly 500 children are being given a bowl of porridge during their morning at school and they are very happy. This will probably be the only meal that they have each day, but at least they are getting something and they are getting into school for the day – so a double bonus!!

They are busy now setting up the irrigation system so that they can grow food which will be harvested in March and will be stored for January 2017 when the next hungry season arrives.

When I go out to Malawi in March I would like to take non-prescription sunglasses with me. If you have any unwanted non-prescription sunglasses, then I would be very pleased to have them to take with me. Please drop them off at my house or call me.

Thank you all so much for your support with all the fundraising activities and also for your interest in these wonderful people at Chitiwiri. Without you all, I wouldn’t be able to run these projects and they have all made such a difference to the lives of this community.

Everyone at Chitiwiri is saying Happy New Year to everyone in Northiam.

If you would like to more about Chitiwiri and any of the projects taking place, please don’t hesitate to contact me on 07903338614 or email me on [email protected]

Many thanks, Sally and Richard Bickersteth

St Mary’s Services: Jan 24th: 8am Holy Communion, 10.30am Morning Praise.

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