SYNOD HEAD OFFICE PROJECT

THE PROJECT

Construction of a three-storey building at 152 Kwame Nkrumah Avenue in Harare, Zimbabwe to house the Harare Synod Secretariat currently operating from one room at the same place in the General Secretary’s Manse.

BACKGROUND

CCAP Zimbabwe was established in 1912 to provide a church for immigrants from Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique who could not speak or understand the local languages. The initiative was taken by Missionaries of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) of Western Cape Synod in South Africa. The church was run as a Presbytery under the CCAP Nkhoma Synod in Malawi. Ministers in the congregation were natives of Malawi who upon completion of their call of duty would go back to Malawi. Most of the funding for the ministry came from DRC and they had properties, which they have now donated to the CCAP Harare Synod in Zimbabwe, gradually releasing it to take care of all its needs both human and financial.

While CCAP Harare Synod as was declared in 1965 was endowed with a gift of some church buildings in major towns and cities of Zimbabwe it has no permanent structure for administrative purposes. It used to lease offices in Samora Machel Avenue and operated a book store at the then 152 Union Avenue, for over ten years but due to various reasons financial being the major one, operations were moved to 152 Union Avenue where a room was converted to house the Secretariat of the Synod. It had no land of its own to even consider building a structure.

In recent years God blessed Harare Synod through the donation of various properties by Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa and 152 Kwame Nkrumah which has two vacant stands for development is one of them. This naturally became the target for the proposed Head Office for CCAP in Zimbabwe. When the title deeds were handed over an initiative was taken in April 2004 to kick start the Head Office Project.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES:

To construct an office complex that will house the Synod Secretariat
To provide office space for all ministeril departments of the Synod
To give CCAP in Zimbabwe a place to hold conferences, board meetings and seminars
To provide office facilities in two of the three floors of the complex to private and public sector for leasing, inoder to generate revenue for the Church's projects and outreach operations in Zimbabwe.

MILESTONES

Ø The City Of Harare finally approved the plans on 19 September 2006

Ø A local contractor was engaged to manage the project working closely with the Strategic Planning Committee

Ø Peg Setting was done on 21 October 2006

Ø From the 11^th -16^th November 2006 trenches for the Head Office foundation were dug by 33 volunteers from 6 Congregations in Greater Harare.

Ø Basic building materials have been and continue to be, bought i.e. ¾ stones, river and pit sand with initial loads already on the project site

Ø Fundraising activities continue among the churches and congregations.

PROJECT COSTS ( Under Review to be reflected in USD - watch this space for details)

The projected costs are divided into four significant sections: Substructure; Superstructure; Fixtures and Fittings and Labor:

The Estimated costs as per Bill of Quantities and Contractor’s are as follows:

Total Costs of Building Materials:

Total Costs for Electrical & Lighting Materials:

Contractor’s Labor:

Total Project Costs: (Being revised to USD)

(Zimbabwe has adopted a multi-currency system and the South African Rand and the United States Dollar is now in use therefore the previous figures of Zimbabwean Dollars are being revised into the multi-currency. Watch this space for the update.)

SOURCES OF FUNDS

Harare Synod took a bold and unprecedented move to raise funds from its membership and for the first time in its giving history members have responded positively to the call. A lot of funds were raised before and during the Nov 27, 2005 Historic Ground Breaking Ceremony and are continuing to be raised but will not be sufficient to see the building through.

External help is sought from fellow Christians in the vineyard world over. To assist in cash, kind and prayers please send an e-mail to the Harare Synod Secretariat for the attention of The Strategic Planning Committee for details or contact any of the listed members at the end of the project. The Project has its own banking accounts and a Committee that is fully in charge of the process. Every single help is appreciated so come forward and help us build the Head Office Project and provide the Harare Synod with Financial sustainability for its community and outreach programs.

THE BUILDING LAYOUT:

The building will be made up of three floors, which will be divided as follows: -

Ground Floor: CCAP Harare Synod Head Office

West Wing

Ablution Block for ladies with 5 toilets and 3 hand-wash basins; 7 Rooms/Offices for the following functions: Social Welfare; Projects; Guilds; Strong Room; Stores & Records; Finance; & Bookstore, plus a Lift and Staircase to Upper Floors

East Wing

Ablution Block for Gents with 3 toilets, urinary section and 3 hand-wash basins; 7 Rooms for the following functions: Kitchen; Conference; Evangelism; Board Room; Moderator; General Secretary; & Reception

First Floor and Second Floor (has similar facilities): - For Leasing & Rental Purposes

West Wings

Similar Ladies Ablution as Ground floor and 7 undesignated rooms/offices

East Wings

Similar Gents Ablution as Ground floor and a kitchen plus 8 undesignated rooms/offices.

The building will have a total of 44 rooms/offices, 6 ablution blocks (2 on each floor) with access to disabled users, 3 kitchens (1 on each floor) a staircase and elevator, conference cum boardroom and parking space for all users of the complex.

PROPOSED STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

STAGE ONE:

q Drawing and submission of plans (Done)

STAGE TWO:

q Foundation Stage (Trenching done awaiting cement to build the slab)

q Other levels will be decided upon completion of the first and foremost important foundation stage.

Project Update

The Hand of God in Action:

Glory is to God for making all things possible - Luke 1:37. The Major hurdle of acquiring steel was finally jumped and as you read all the steel required for the substructure is now in place, thanks to the kind donations from our fellow brothers and sisters in the vineyard of USA and Australia. The local church also played an important role with an initiative by a stakeholders initiative where each member committed a large donation to the acquisition of the raw material required to enable the initial stage of the construction to take place. The reinforcement steel - cut, sized and shaped is ready for the trenches and extra funds are now required to pay for the contractor who has since moved to site and cleared the trenches for the pillars which where dug by congregations in Greater Harare but lacked the standard depth, width and height. Once the substructure is in place the plans for the storey building will not expire anymore and the church will now construct the building in stages without the threat of expiry of building plans. Each member of Harare Synod has been requested to donate at least USD1.00 towards the substructure expenses. A group from PCUSA led by the Warlicks recently toured the building site - "watch this space for the pics that were taken on site".

You and I have a part to play in making Harare Synod financially independent in a few years of completion of this income generating project. Proceeds for the lease/rentals of the two floors will be ploughed back into the Ministry to fund Evangelism and Outreach programs, church planting/construction as well as community projects. Contact us so we can share how best we can help one another in furthering the God’s work through Harare Synod.