Pastor asks for help to complete church
The outbreak of Covid-19 and the lockdown hugely affected the progress as far as the project is concerned.
One of Mpumalanga’s preachers, 72-year-old Pr Fanyana Petros Maseko of The Alliance Church in South Africa, Mganduzweni branch, is begging for help to complete a church he started building a decade ago. 
Maseko and his church members started the mammoth task of constructing a proper structure in 2009. The members would raise money through fundraising campaigns to purchase building material. Bit by bit they managed to erect the building that is now at roof level.
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Maseko said the outbreak of Covid-19 and the lockdown hugely affected their progress as far as the project is concerned. “A lot of our members lost their jobs while others had their working hours reduced and could no longer make contributions towards raising funds.
We can no longer afford to buy roofing materials. My plea to both the public and private sectors is for them to help us complete the structure,” he said.
Maseko said the structure will not only help his church members, but the community at large, as there is no community hall. It can take a capacity of between 250 and 300 people. 
The clergyman had been preaching the gospel since 1974 with 45 of those years spent in Mganduzweni where he worked as a teacher at Phumelela Bible College and a pastor for Mganduzweni Alliance Church.
Although he is no longer active due to his health, he still wishes to see the people having a decent place of worship.
Maseko was recently diagnosed with diabetes, an illness that led to the amputation of both legs. This incident did not make him lose focus on his faith. “I wish to see the completion of this structure and the community members prospering,” he said. “My initial plan was to have the structure completed in 2019. However, due to the fact that we started the project with no budget and depended on the church’s offerings, we couldn’t finish it by then,” he said.
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Maseko said sponsors willing to assist will be given quotations so that they can directly pay the suppliers for the needed material. Ester Ntiwane, the church’s chairperson, added that she hoped other pastors and influential people from the area would assist in the completion of the work of God. “Many activities will happen in this structure once it is built.
They will keep the youth active and away from crime,” she added.
Enquiries: Maseko on 079-986-4595, Ntiwane on 072-214-7979, Gugu Mbokane on 079-800-4009 or Kenneth Msume on 083-467-6712.
