I don't know about books, but real stories usually have humble beginnings and the first chapter is written long before the elements of the final chapter were even conceived or perceived. Chapter Six can simply not be written before or without Chapter Two. If that was to happen we would be dealing with a newspaper or notice board, but not with a story. Story, and the sense of story is something we are to hold dear, with reverence; for story telling is the telling of story living- the art of writing history.

The metaphor of story can be likened to the art and skill of construction; of building something. The past five years saw this ‘theologian' or ‘developmentalist' often involved in the specialised terrain of building and despite my lack of expertise I have found the same logic to be present when building a house, building a friendship or building a project. What strikes me most about building is the productive humility of patiently placing one thing upon another without excessive attempts to grasp grandeur and visions of the future. There can be no foundation laid before digging, there can be no bricks, before the building of the foundation, similarly there can be no roof without bricks, etc. etc. This is an order very similar to the writing of chapters- each chapter building upon the previous, one page following another.

We are at times fortunate enough to be a part of wonderful stories and wonderful constructions that would merit, even demand retelling. The beauty of large stories is that the story is bigger than any one, two or even ten actors! Being part of something that is bigger than us seems to be an old phrase with a contemporary relevance. Each decision we make and each act we perform writes a page of a certain story. Even if you don't believe this, don't care for stories, or view your life in isolation from others with no narratives attached- that then is still the story you write.

Why all this melancholic blabber about stories and buildings? The answer is simple: things are starting to go well with our Manica Program, potentially really well and as I see success and things spectacular fall into place I think back and dwell more and more on our humble beginnings. Beginnings that had little support, little hope for survival, never mind success. I sit for hours thinking back of this person giving this, that person giving that- small acts of kindness and faith, each laying the foundation for the next.

Consequently we can recognise that momentum has a focal function in the growth of an initiative such as the Manica Program. Project Management text book does not off course care much for words like momentum, hope, belief, gratitude and fulfilment and that is why I subscribe to an Organic Model for Project Management: A model where a project (program) grows naturally, like a tree. Each branch grows out of another branch, splits up, multiplies and produces leaves and fruits. Each act of kindness and belief, becoming the branch for another part of the tree to take shape and at the end, the tree is larger than any individual branch or root ever anticipated. Growth can be slow, but it is organic and has integrity and credibility for the project grows with the people.

I wish I could sit here and list all the names and deeds that I can remember. I wish I had an exhaustive list of all the kindness, but the fear of forgetting anyone or omitting a crucial happening prevents me from even trying to start on such a list. The list goes way back and sometimes includes people and deeds that they don't even consider to have been crucial, but it was and is. So this writing is actually a big thank you, a sincere statement of gratitude to each person who in some small way participates, through money, a smile, a compliment, advice, caring, a prayer, being interested, visiting, donating, working, etc. Thank you.

It's an honour to be writing a story, writing a chapter of history with you.