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Sandra Ndale Gift Thompson
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In addition to founding and leading the STEKA home with Helen, Godknows Maseko heads up a network of 42 children's charities in southern Malawi and has strong links with universities in the UK, international organisations such as Rotary and a range of internationally based activists and charities. As he is a lobbyist for children’s rights he is well-known by relevant sections of the Malawian Government. He has also inspired a number of international volunteers who have lived with his family at the STEKA home and remain committed to the organisation. In addition to leading STEKA, Godknows and Helen are both trustees of STEKAskills (see our Governance page).
Kenyawi Kids and friends and family of Lilidh Aveyard, who lived at the STEKA home for 18 months, raised the money to pay for the land on which the STEKA Youth Skills Village is being built.
Queen Margaret University
STEKAskills and STEKA have a memorandum of understanding with Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, which has waived fees for educating 3 of STEKA’s young adults to enable them to help develop and sustain the STEKA Centre. Sandra and Abigail can now create professional-standard social media content to communicate all that’s happening there and Gift studied a BA(Hons) in Public Sociology and an MSc in Management and Leadership, to qualify him to design and develop international workshops and to develop community capacity building skills to secure the sustainability of the Centre. QMU students are dedicated to their relationship with the STEKA Centre and to inspiring other young people in the Global North to get involved too.
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Rotary - Portobello
The Rotary Club of Portobello, supported by the Rotary clubs of Haddington, Tranent and Coatbridge, Airdrie & Monklands, Leith and Limbe (Malawi) as well as the very generous Portobello community have raised enough money to build our first Vocational Skills Centre.
The warm and welcoming parishes of St John's and Mary Magdeline's in Portobello have welcomed STEKA's Sandra, Abigail and Gift into their community. They have fundraised to build two Vocational Skills Centres. A church group visited STEKA in early 2020.
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Anna
Like many other volunteers, who have visited STEKA, Anna has developed a strong and meaningful relationship with STEKA and has recently raises funds for the STEKA Centre.
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Businesses such as Bondgate Bakery in Otley and Friday St and Green Kilt in Portobello have raised essential funds by selling STEKA-made bags and aprons (the production of which supports many more Malawians too).
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Small community groups
Communities such as Solihull and Portobello
have been holding tea parties and bingo afternoons to raise money for STEKA and create opportunities for local communities to have fun.
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Individuals such as James Hardie and his granny have baked cakes and sold them in Edinburgh to raise an amazing £850 for the Centre.
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Gleniffer High School in Paisley tested the STEKA Dialogue Groups when they were in Malawi along with Knightswood Secondary School in Glasgow. They are committed to developing them further as a new and different model of global friendship and learning. Dunbar Grammar School pupils chose to partner with STEKAskills for their 2018 Peace Jam initiative.
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Ex-volunteers such as Lucy Bryce and her family and a whole range of other well-wishers such as Kenyawi Kids fundraise to help meet the needs of the STEKA family so that others can focus on the longer term futures of the STEKA children (and others like them) who will benefit from the STEKA Centre.