Brass Tacks News
Ipusukilo project (4th August 2008)The work at Ipusukilo is progressing well. There are some up to date pictures which have just been uploaded to the Brass Tacks gallery
Ipusukilo project (1st July 2008)
The latest newsletter from Ipusukilo Childrens Centre has been published and is also available for download. It has got some useful information and details of the work so far.
Roger Mullan one of our volunteers has just returned from this project and we have uploaded some interesting pictures to the flickr photostream. Look on our 'past projects' page for more information.
There is now a website up and running for the Ipusukilo Childrens Centre at www.ipusukilo.org
Summer newsletter available for download (1st July 2008)
The latest brass tacks newsletter has been published and is now available for download on our downloads page.
Urgent request for help (19th June 2008)
Paul Hannay who was our original first full-time worker has been working at Chengelo School, Zambia for 5 years as the maintenance manager. He has unfortunately had to return back to the UK due to ill health. Paul was in the middle of replacing the ceilings to 4 classrooms. The school have their 20th Anniversary at the end of July and have asked if Brass Tacks could help complete the suspended ceilings. We need a carpenter or someone with experience in fitted suspended ceilings for about 3 weeks. If you think you could help please contact Jean in the office. Meanwhile please remember Paul, Angela and the family in your prayers.
Kalene Rewire (14th June 2008)
The orders for all of the electrical goods have been placed and we hope that the three containers will be leaving the UK soon. This now means we can finally set the date for the project, which will be the middle of October 2008 DV. We will need about 8 qualified electricians (cert. 16th amendment) over a period of 3 months. Please pray for volunteers able to come for 1 month or more and the safe arrival of the containers at Kalene.
Work permits (14th June 2008)
Volunteers entering Zambia to work on projects for longer than 30 days require a work permit. Phil Grove has been able to obtain these following lots of form filling and the payment of £100. The immigration officers at Lusaka airport however have tried to confiscate the permits of a number of our volunteers upon returning to the country if they have been away for more than 90 days. This obviously has caused some problems, as most volunteers would normally travel out only once a year. Please pray that the officers on entry will recognise the status of Brass Tacks and the role the volunteers play and allow them to keep hold of their work permits for future trips.
Ipusukilo Childrens Centre, Chingola (3rd June 2008)
The work at Chingola to construct the five bungalows which will provide accommodation is well underway. As of last week the floor slab was complete on house 1. Houses 2 and 5 have completed foundations and are awaiting hardcore. The foundations have been excavated for house 4 and will be poured soon. We have some up to date photos of the site and these are being added to the photo gallery of one of our volunteers.
Update on virus attack (3rd June 2008)
Unfortunately during May the Brass Tacks website was infected by a virus on several occasions. Despite being removed the script recurred. The webmaster is now back in the UK following his recent trip to Zambia. The issue has been taken up with the web host Skymarket and precautions have been taken to try and ensure that this does not happen again. We will monitor the site daily to keep a check on it. Once again, our sincerest apologies to anyone who viewed the website during this period and was affected by the virus.
Virus attack (8th May 2008)
The Brass Tacks website was unfortunately infected by a virus during the last week. The infected page has now been removed and the situation will be reported to our web provider as it appears to have come through the provider. We will be closely monitoring the situation. If you have viewed the site within the last week it is recommended that you virus scan your computer.
Webmaster away (26th April 2008)
The Brass Tacks webmaster will be away at Chingola, Zambia from 2nd to 31st May God-willing. He will be helping with the work at Ipusukilo Childrens Centre. It is unlikely that the website will be updated during that period, but there should be plenty of photos uploaded to the flickr gallery upon return!
Update on Ipusukilo Childrens Centre (23rd April 2008)
The new Ipusukilo Children's Centre April 2008 newsletter is available on the downloads page giving information on the progress so far on site at Chingola, Zambia. There are pictures of the work and some of the people working on the project. It is hoped that we will start uploading more pictures of the work once the first volunteers have returned to the UK.
Job in Paris (26th March 2008)
Additional help is required with a further project at a small Church in Paris. Volunteers are needed for two weeks or more in May and June. Please contact the office if you are able to help with this or any of the other projects.
Spring newsletter available for download (6th March 2008)
The latest Brass Tacks prayer letter is now available for download. There is also an updated version of the information leaflet on the Ipusukilo Project, which gives a detailed overview of this project. The volunteer application form has also been revised. All three are available on the downloads page.
Bugs ironed out (1st March 2008)
A few bugs have been ironed out with the website, mainly for viewers using Firefox. There is also a new calendar view of the meetings and events for 2008.
Radio Interview
Volunteer Chris Jones was recently interviewed on BBC Radio Merseyside. The mp3 recording can be downloaded on the downloads page. Also on the same page is a recording of a report meeting from November 2006.
New pages (30th January 2008)
Two new pages have been added today. There is a page which is basically an interview with Roger Mullan, a regular volunteer called 'meet a volunteer'. There is another page on the history of Brass Tacks, written by Dr Peter Coates MBE. You can also download volunteer application forms from the downloads page.
Projects for 2008 (10th January 2008)
The new projects for 2008 can be found on the projects for 2008 page. Further details can be found on the downloads page.
New on the website today (19th December 2007)
A lot has changed to the website in the last few days....
1. There are now picture galleries on the past projects page.
2. The list of meetings has been posted for 2008.
3. There is a password protected section for trustees and volunteers.
4. More of the newsletters are now available for download.
New Website goes live (17th December 2007)
As you may have noticed, the website has changed, and is in the process of being updated. Please bear with us as these changes take place and content is updated. More content will be added to the site in the coming weeks. If you are experiencing any problems with the site, then please contact the office to report the problems.