Penny Stradling - OASIS - Uganda

Penny Stradling - who grew up in Haddenham and was for many years a member of St Mary's - is working with Oasis in Mbale, Uganda for 18 months from October 2009 working to train Ugandan youth workers and in AIDS prevention work.  Penny has been youth worker at a church in Orpington for the last few years.  St Mary's is pleased to be able to support Penny both financially and in prayer. You can keep up with her progress here and read more about Oasis' work in Uganda.  If you wish to help support Penny's work in Uganda financially you can do so through St. Mary's or directly to Oasis making sure you specify that the donation is for the support of Oasis Uganda and in the comments field that it is to support Penny Stradling.

Anne Lapage - Church Mission Society - Tanzania

St Mary's is pleased to support the work of CMS through Anne Lapage - our link partner in Tanzania.

Anne works in the Diocese of Ruaha to help train evangelists and teach religious studies at a secondary school in Kilolo. In a rural area around 40 kilometres south east of Iringa, more than 30 churches have been planted in the last few years, under the Diocese of Ruaha, and the growth is continuing. Some of the people who have become Christians are already engaging in evangelism and discipleship, leading churches and teaching their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ more about their new found faith. Many of these evangelists have benefited from a course in St Michael’s Evangelists’ Training Centre in Kilolo and Anne helps with this training.

In the same geographical area, which has a population of 200,000, not many children of secondary age have the opportunity to continue their education after primary level, because there are so few secondary schools. There is a drain of young people from the area to work in the cities of Tanzania. They are attracted by the lure of becoming wealthy, but in fact many end up as underpaid servants or – worse – unable to make the return journey. If they do eventually return to their homes, some are already suffering from the effects of HIV/AIDS.

As part of a vision to help provide a future for young people, and to make life more attractive in this rural area of Kilolo, the Diocese of Ruaha has built a secondary school, also called St Michael’s. It was opened to the first year of students in 2005, and receiving a new intake of students in each subsequent year. Anne teaches Religious Education in this school.

You can keep up to date with Anne's work here and her newsletters are available from CMS