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News Release

Church Helps Remodel Actonville Training Centre

Actonville Training Centre in Benoni, South Africa, is an accredited school which provides specialized training for 534 students with mental and physical handicaps. Funds to operate the school come from the Department of Education and private donations. Mr. Desmond Naidoo, the Head of Department for Vocational Training, indicated the objective for the school is to help students learn skills that will allow them to be self-reliant.

 School curriculum includes training in culinary arts, hair styling, domestic work, welding and brick making. The school needed new equipment and expanded facilities to provide quality training for the students. Church humanitarian missionaries, and directors, met with Training Centre administrators to assess needs and to review the services the Centre provided. After observing the programs provided to the students and the community and evaluating the facilities, the Church agreed to provide resources to help upgrade the school.

The Church hired a contractor, who was supervised by the School, to install two new kitchens, one large kitchen to teach cooking and culinary skills and one kitchen to prepare meals for the students. The students receive two meals per day while attending classes. A new beauty salon was also contracted by the Church with installation supervised by the School. Materials to redo walk-ways between buildings and provide overhead coverings for the walk-ways, along with a machine to make bricks, were also provided by the Church. The School installed the new walk-ways and walk-way covers, with some labor given by young full-time Church missionaries, who were allowed to put their handprints in the wet concrete of one of the new walk-ways.

 Deputy principal, Timothy Boroto, Head of Foundational Learning, Lilly Molopyane and Desmond Naidoo, Head of Department for Vocational Training, all expressed their deep gratitude for help provided the by the Church. The new facilities have helped the entire staff increase their effectiveness and are a blessing to all the students.

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