“…Thanks for a lovely day. One of the children said it was her best day ever! ...”

 Jacqui Watkins

Head at Brampton Village Primary (Cambridgeshire)

"...The children really enjoyed the afternoon. Theodore was very friendly and the class found it very interesting..."

"...Theodore was well-prepared for the session. He had a good range of resources and an engaging manner. The children particularly liked the drumming and the wiggle dance!..."

Brampton Village Primary (Cambridgeshire)

“Dear Theo, I'm just writing to thank you so much for hosting such a wonderful evening on Saturday and for helping us so much with the screenings in the daytime.  It was such a pleasure to partner with you this year and I think that despite the minor technical hitches the whole event was such a success and very much appreciated by our audiences.  We all had so much fun at the party and learned a few new moves along the way!  It was such a fantastic way to celebrate the end of the Festival so thank you so much for all your hard work, effort and enthusiasm!...”

Paula Beegan

General Manager

Cambridge Film Trust

“Dear Theodore, I just wanted to add my voice to the chorus to say another HUGE thank you to you for partnering with us this year. This partnership was one of the most exciting things about the festival for all of us this year and we are really looking forward to continuing to work with you and Menelik Education and Music in the future…”

Lindiwe Dovey

Director

Cambridge African Film Festival

Theodore Menelik-Mfuni from Menelik Education has partnered recently with the Harambee Centre for Development and Enviornment Education through his role as a Global Voices volunteer. This voluntary programme aims to raise awareness of cultural diversity in schools in the Eastern region and break down some of the stereotypes that exist about other cultures through critical-thinking and participatory activities.

Theodore has contributed to conference days in schools focusing on cultural diversity by running interactive and informative workshops on the Democratic Republic of Congo. He brings this African country alive through a quiz and slides that set the country in context within the African continent. Students learn about its recent history and some of the less-well known positive aspects of its culture. They can also hear about Menelik Education's work on extending the school in Kinshasa and potential partnerships between their school and this one.

Both organisations recognise the mutual benefit of working together and look forward to opportunities for future collaboration.

Jane Carpenter

Harambee Centre Development Education Programme Coordinator

"...Menelik Education is a remarkable and very unique organisation, with incredible, vital vision. On our trip we spent all our time with Congolese people, slept on their floors, ate their delicious food, and played football and danced together everywhere! They looked after us very well. We stayed in the compound of Mama Jacqui, the mother of the organisation’s founder. The people living there are from all walks of life; there are around 100 people there, of all ages, and many of them have experienced great hardship and suffering in the course of DRC’s brutal conflicts. It was a real privilege to become friends with them, we had a fantastic time and we miss them a lot. When we were there we helped with sports and arts activities with the kids and young people in the compound, teaching English (and learning some Lingala – Mbote!! Nzolo!!), redecorating dilapidated schools, clearing out and decorating what has now become a Resources Centre, with internet facilities etc and which is also going to have a bar and café run by local people. Other things achieved after we left included teacher training and some massive football tournaments! There is so much more we feel can be achieved, now we are all more aware of things there. Oh but we had A LOT of fun!!!!!!!!!!!! It is difficult to express what an impact this sort of thing has on a community. Nobody goes to DRC. It felt very weird that even our going to a bar could mean that it then becomes ‘the’ place to go to. At the heart of Menelik Education is the principle that help should be supporting, not imposing outside ‘help’. DRC is thought to be the only country in the world UNdeveloping. The things Menelik Education does is partly about achieving specific goals, and partly about showing people that things can change for the better, and that they themselves can make those changes. So! A new student group!! We want to involve YOU in the whole process of being involved with Menelik Education: fundraising, raising awareness of what DRC has to offer, and its problems, and volunteering in Kinshasa. We have looooooads of crazy ideas for it!!! And welcome all ideas from anyone else! Summer 2010. We are returning to DRC, and this time will be taking more responsibility for co-ordinating volunteers and the projects they’ll be involved with. We had SUCH a fantastic time, and feel tied to the people we lived with and met. We feel that Menelik Education has potential to accomplish so much more, and we want to help that by expanding its reach in UK. If you want to get involved, GET IN TOUCH!!!!!!!!! We are Very. Very. Very. Excited. And think this project could go far. Fundraising, awareness, volunteering: We Want You! Rosie and Laura xxx..."

Rosie and laura

Birmingham University MenelikEducation volunteers

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