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Africa University Today - Fall 2024
Burlingame UMC’s Reaction Supports a Life Circle Moment
For Nothando Sithole life has come full circle. She is back at the AU campus at Old Mutare, Zimbabwe, layering new memories over those she made as a toddler accompanying her mother to work.
Her mother, the late Patricia Sithole, joined Africa University in 1992 as a pioneer faculty member in the Humanities department, teaching Intensive English. She died in 2011.
At age 35 and now a mother herself, Sithole is in her second year as a theology major preparing for pastoral ministry. In August 2023, using personal and family resources, Sithole enrolled at AU. But by January 2024, her financial situation changed. Sithole was contemplating dropping out when
Burlingame UMC, located in the San Francisco Bay area, came to the rescue. How that happened is a story in itself.
In 2023, while visiting her daughter in San Francisco, Mrs. Margret Makadzange, a former member of the AU Board of Directors and conference lay leader from Zimbabwe, attended worship services at Burlingame UMC. The congregation asked her to make a presentation about the denomination’s missional work in Zimbabwe. Makadzange highlighted Africa University and spoke about its most crucial need—scholarships for students.
After Makadzange’s presentation, the congregation decided to sponsor a student. That student— Nothando Sithole—thanked Burlingame UMC saying, “Without you, I wouldn’t have people who listen to my dreams and a place where I can reach my destiny. Now I have the room to thrive.”
With AU, churches and individuals can stand in the gap for bold dreamers, those who are being called to fulfill the Great Commission. One way to do that is to become a Keystone Congregation. Burlingame UMC, now a Keystone Congregation, is part of AU’s strategy for growth and sustainability in the new/evolving reality of The United Methodist Church and resourcing transformative mission and ministry. Contact your conference treasurer to learn how to become a Keystone Congregation for Africa University.
