David and Rhoda Nixon

Revd David and Rhoda Nixon were based in Zambia. They have two sons, Samuel and Christopher. David coordinated the work of the Chodort Training Centre in Choma. This is a vocational training centre that teaches young people skills such as carpentry and tailoring. Rhoda homeschooled Samuel and Christopher and helped to run the church library.

Here are some questions we asked Revd Nixon during his time in Zambia, to give you more of an idea of his work there:

In a paragraph, how would you summarise the work you are doing as a mission partner?

I started serving with The United Church of Zambia in May 1999. For the first three years I was the chairman of Choma Consistory with responsibility for 13 churches. During this period we started a skills training centre with funding from partners in Dortmund, Germany. When I returned in 2002 the Bishop put me in charge of the development of this training centre. The centre has gradually grown and is now offering carpentry, tailoring and computer courses. We are hoping to continue with this growth by developing and offering new courses and a complete new infrastructure including student and staff accommodation, workshops, classrooms and offices.

What has been your greatest challenge?

The greatest challenge is making Chodort Training Centre sustainable. We are seeking to keep the fees affordable to the students but at the same time trying to offer good quality training. We do not receive funding from the Government so depend on donations from abroad and our own income generating activities such as carpentry and tailoring production units, concrete block making and in the future we hope to build houses for rent.

What impact do you feel you have made?

I am pleased to have reached the point where Chodort Training Centre which we opened in 2002 with four carpentry students is now training over 80 students annually in carpentry, tailoring and computer studies. Some use their skills to gain employment and others set up their own businesses. Many of the students who complete the computer course are school leavers and they use their computer skills in their third level courses.

How do you think God is guiding you in your work?

In terms of God's guidance, I find that God is very practical and guides me through the advice and wisdom of my colleagues at work and in many cases we try a new idea and if God opens the doors we continue with the idea and if He does not open the door then we try another idea believing that He is sovereign and rules over all practical matters.