About mechanics for africa

We focus on the individual. Our committed staff work hard with each and every student to see lives transformed.

We were established as a college in 2002 by visionaries Charlie and Sharonne Watt, with the support of Milford Baptist Church in the UK. Charlie and Sharonne ran the college until leaving in 2014 when Charlie took a senior role in Zambia’s mining industry. Jason and Claire Stonier led the college from 2014 to 2018, and were succeeded by Sarah and Harry Weld-Forester, who took charge from 2019 to 2021.

Gwanire Kalombe is the current CEO for Mechanics for Africa. Milford Baptist Church and Christ Church, Sutton continue to be major support links between the UK and Zambia. 

Workshop

Since its foundations the college has grown to include a training workshop and a fully operational commercial workshop employing full-time mechanics. Our students study for an Automotive Engineering Course with  TEVETA and have incredible opportunities to work in our live environment and gain valuable experience of fixing a wide range of vehicles. In addition, all our second years undergo an industrial attachment with one of our local partner companies, gaining further real life experience which will help them to find employment beyond Mechanics for Africa.

Our vision is not only to see people gaining new skills: much more than that, our vision is to see our students grow in strength of character, being known as ambassadors of integrity, trustworthy in everything they do.

Our focus

Our main subject is Automotive Engineering, but we also teach a variety of other valuable Life Skills, including Basic Computer Skills, Entrepreneurship, English, Health and Safety and First Aid. 

We focus on mentoring individuals, and through those individuals we hope to impact the wider families and communities of Zambia as our students graduate from MfA as men and women of good character and great potential.