The Dineen Chimteka Trust was set up by parents from Woldingham School whose children attended when the late Dr Phil Dineen was headmistress of the school

The late Dr Phil Dineen was headmistress of Woldingham School, in the south east of England, for many years. Her many achievements are aptly described in the tributes to her at the The Dr Philomena Dineen Memorial Mass - Sunday 19 October 2008.
When Phil retired to Ireland with her husband Peter, she again became industriously involved in achieving for others. Her chance meeeting with an African missionary, Fr Julian Kasiya, led to the Foundation of Chimteka Children Support in 2004, well told in her own words.
The Dineen Chimteka Trust was set up by parents from Woldingham School whose children attended when Phil was headmistress.
At the Memorial Mass, chairperson Pat Collier was presented with a cheque from Woldingham School by the Headmistress, Mrs Jane Triffitt. Pat told the Trust that the cheque for Ł5,000 (€6,359.7) would go a long way towards paying the €19,000 cost of building accommodation for 4 teachers in Chimteka, Malawi. There are 4 newly built classrooms ready to be occupied and the provision of accommodation for 4 teachers will make it attractive for teachers to live and work in Chimteka. Presently the teacher pupil ratio at primary level in chimteka is 80:1 and not all of the teachers are even qualified. The money will help bring down that pupil teacher ratio and improve the quality of teaching by attracting qualified teachers. It is expected that we will give the decision to go ahead with the building next week so they should be ready by January next. Pat and the committee of Chimteka Chidren Support will keep the Trust briefed on progress.
The main contact person for the Dineen Chimteka Trust is Nick Gras.
He would like to organise a small but dedicated committee of interested people to help with the challenge of raising sufficient funds. Would anyone who is interested please contact Nick at:
Telephone: 01903-873988 Mobile: 07785-778049 Email: nick.gras@owlbarn.plus.com
We are delighted to say that Peter Riordan will be the person to liaiase between the Dineen Chimteka Trust and Chimteka Children Support
As of now, any funds raised through The Dineen Chimteka Trust will be used to benefit some of the Woldingham School stakeholders – Nick is thinking in terms of funding 2 gap year girls from the school to go and work in Chimteka. This needs to be further assessed in terms of feasibility and also risks. His first goal is to get a fund together and then he will revert to us on its use.

Contact Chimteka Children Support