St Michael’s is pleased to be able to sponsor 15 street boys to continue their education in 2010. The students were selected from the 2009 cohort of boys who spend a year in the rehabilitation programme run by the MPC in Mukuru. They were selected because they showed great promise and potential during their year at MPC. The boys will now attend boarding education for one, possibly two years. Education improves their prospects of employment. This is an essential aspect of their rehabilitation from street life to independent living. St Michael’s is proud to be able to make a difference by helping to build a better future for these young people. We wish them success in their studies in 2010.

The banner to advertise the 10K road race and fun run has been unfurled by students. Members of the cross country team were keen to have a look at the new banner when it arrived in school last week. The banner will be displayed prominently on the school premises to advertise the forthcoming 10k. All profits from the race go directly to Mercy Mission to Mukuru

A county Armagh town will host its first 10k road race on Saturday 24th April at 11am. Hundreds of runners are expected to weave their way around the roads of Lurgan in a 10k race in aid St Michaels Grammar School's Kenyan Immersion project.

Organisers of the Mercy Mission to Mukuru Project hope that the event will help raise awareness of the poverty that exists in the slums in Nairobi, Kenya. The Immersion Project was set up in 2007 to give students first hand experience of the realities of poverty in an African context. Since then St Michael's has fundraised to support the building of a dormitory for street boys in Nairobi. The plan this year is to fund the build of a classroom block in St Catherine's PS, Mukuru. All profits from this race will go to the Mukuru Fund for 2010.

The organisers of the race are thrilled to have local elite sports people to help launch the race from a variety of different sporting backgrounds. International athlete Dermot Kerr is one of Ireland's leading athletes and has teamed with St Michaels and is keen to help launch their inaugural 10k race. Dermot is no stranger to these events; he is one of the Organisers of the Armagh International Road Race, which is one of the most prestigious 5k road races in Europe, attracting over 1500 competitors from countries all over the world. Over the course of his career he has won numerous titles on the track and has won World Masters medals at the world Masters Championships in Brisbane and Newcastle. He has represented Ireland on many occasions for track and cross country competitions.

Also the current Armagh Gaelic Football Manager Paddy O'Rourke is delighted on this occasion to be associated with this North Armagh School and realises the funds raised from the race go to a very worthwhile cause. Paddy is one of few Gaelic players who have achieved an All Ireland title at every grade, and although he has moved into management he is himself a very keen runner, and is enthusiastic to get involved. He has 3 marathons under his belt, in addition to numerous half marathon, 10 mile and 10k races. Paddy is also keen to promote the race amongst his squad and past pupil of St Michael's Grammar School and current Armagh senior player Ryan Henderson has linked up with his alumni and is keen to support the Immersion Project. Ryan was part of successful Herald Cup and MacLarnon cup teams as a student at St Michael's. He recalls his former school days and the great efforts made by the staff and students in helping the less fortunate.

From the world of soccer Pat McGibbon former Manchester United and Northern Ireland player is keen to lend his support. Pat a former pupil of St Michaels had the honour of captaining the Northern Ireland Youth Team while playing for Portadown in the Irish League. In the early 1990's he moved to Manchester United where he spent 5 years in the company of Alex Ferguson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham, Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs etc. He then moved to Wigan Athletic with whom he made over 113 appearances. Pat finished his career with Glentoran in the Irish League and is now Assistant Manager with Monaghan United in the Irish 2nd Division. He has 7 Senior Caps for Northern Ireland, and is in no doubt about the great work being done by the community of St Michael's for this very worthwhile cause. Another athlete keen to lend her support is Mary Mackin. Mary is a member of staff in St Mary's High School Lurgan and is no stranger to these events. A member of Dromore running club, Mary has run for Northern Ireland Masters and travels around the world participating in many races and is delighted to promote the event.

Organisers of the race realise the unique opportunity that exists for runners not just as a race but to help those less fortunate. By participating runners will help alleviate some of the most horrendous poverty that exists in the slums of Nairobi. In addition a fun run will take place alongside the main event main for youths, families and the casual walkers over a 2km stretch.

Application forms to register for the 10k run can be obtained from www.stmichaelsgrammar.org.uk by calling St Michael's Grammar School on 028 38323192 Entries cost £10 each with a pack for each runner. The race starts at 11am, with last registration at 10.30am. Also application forms are available on request from School Office.

Congratulations to the 13students and three members of staff who took to the skies over Garvaghy, Co Derry, to complete a sponsored tandem sky dive. The skydivers rose to the challenge of a 13,000ft drop with great enthusiasm. The freefall lasted 45 seconds before the parachute opened to allow for a controlled landing. Bracing themselves to manage the fear of stepping outside a plane in mid air, each member took a deep breath and committed themselves to the jump. With adrenaline levels at an all time high, the ground came too soon for those who relished the experience and could have stayed longer in the air. Many expressed the intention to repeat the experience, some time in the future. This may indeed be the inaugural sky jump for Mukuru. All funds raised by the students go to the school immersion project, Mercy Mission to Mukuru. Two students, Christopher O’Hara and Anne Marie Mongan have raised sponsorship in excess of £1,000 through the sky dive. Anne Marie will join the group of staff and students who travel to Mukuru in June 2010 to work in the slums of Nairobi. Christopher participated in the Mukuru immersion visit in June 2009 and this is his way of supporting the project in 2010. Congratulations to Niall Rogers who has also raised £1000 for the fund via the sky jump. Finally well done to all those who took part, especially the three brave teachers, Mr McCafferty, Mr McGivern and Mr.McKenna who supported the students and also completed the ski jump.

Click here for more information and to download an application form.

The team of students and teachers who travelled to Mukuru in June 2009 brought with them two mass kits donated by the ladies of the Dromore Dioceses Apostolic Work. These were presented to Sr sally who agreed that she would give them to the prison chaplain Here is an extract from her account of the presentation “We presented the wonderful gift to the Missionary of Africa, Chaplain after the usual Sunday Mass. The men, although small in number out of the approx. 300 prisoners, put a great deal into the preparation of the liturgy and I really felt it all very meaningful.” the kits will be used for the celebration of mass in the prison. We are delighted to be supported by the Apostolic Work in the work we do in Mukuru.

Marianne Downing Y13 Student travelling to Mukuru in 2010, entertained shoppers at the Quays Shopping Centre in Newry on Saturday 12th December with her medley of Christmas music. Marianne was supported by her friends Sinead Breen on the violin. Clare Mulholland on the tin whistle and brother Jonathan on the keyboard and friend Aaron on the violin. Collectors were Aoife Murphy and Emma Doherty. Thanks especially to Mrs Cosgrove for making it possible.

Mercy Mission to Mukuru is delighted to have the support of Clann Eireann Gaelic Club this year. The club is pleased to support the work of the students and teachers of St Michaels’ in trying to make a difference to the lives of some of the poorest children in Africa. A night of entertainment in the social club, organised recently by Kevin McGibbon raised £400 for the project.

Mercy Mission to Mukuru is delighted by the support it has received from the P7 pupils of St Patrick’s Primary School, Aghagallon and their teacher Mrs Harte. They have taken a great interest in the work that is being done by St Michael’s students with the young people of the slums of Mukuru. Pupils of St Patrick’s generously donated their Lenten money, amounting to £550 to the Mukuru fund for 2009. They have continued to support the Mukuru Project and have recently written letters expressing their support and concern for the children of Mukuru who are much less fortunate than themselves. We hope that in the future, some of the children of St Patrick’s will be able to travel to Mukuru themselves, to see how their money is being used to help build a better future for the children of Mukuru.

The new Mukuru hoodie for 2010 is now ready and available to purchase. This year’s designer and sales person is Aoife Murphy of 13C . Aoife designed a new logo for 2010. She has chosen a black hoodie with a range of colour options which allows the purchaser to customise their hoodie for an individual look. Hoodies can be bought directly from Aoife in the school canteen at break time or lunch time. They are also available outside school. Anyone wishing to make a purchase from outside school, should contact school by phone. Aoife hopes to make enough from the sale of her hoodie to cover the costs of her visit to Mukuru, as part of the school immersion project, in June 2010.

Staff at the Mukuru Promotion Centre are delighted to finally be connected to their new generator funded by St Michael’s in June 2009. The centre was finding itself unable to function for many hours per day because of the energy crisis in Nairobi which results in frequent breaks in electricity supply. The MPC is the hub of the many projects which operate throughout Mukuru and their inability to function effectively because of the energy crisis was creating real problems. The new generator means they are no longer totally dependent on the main electricity supply and the MPC is now functioning on a full timetable, thanks to the efforts of the Mercy Mission to Mukuru.

Having completed the building of the dormitory the Mercy Mission to Mukuru moves into it's next phase with the committment of St Michaels to build two new classrooms for the children of St Catherines Primary School in Mukuru. Their current accomodation is a basic hut made of corrugated tin. Class sizes are very large with up to 50 pupils taught toghther in one class 1200 children attend the school in this school year. Despite their lack of quality accomodation the children have a great interest in learning and the standard of education is very high. The committment to support the streetboys also continues and it is the intention of St Michaels to pay the salary of a house parent who will supervise the dormitory and to provide kitchen and dining facilities for the streetboys. This work will be completed in the next three years of the project.