News from Mackenzie: Mackenzie
Community School officially becomes Mackenzie Primary School

February 2026

It is with great pleasure and a touch of sadness that we announce an important development in Mackenzie: Mackenzie Community School has officially become Mackenzie Primary School. This renaming by the government recognises the school's outstanding development in recent years – a success in which iChange has been heavily involved since 2009.

As is often the case with such transitions, a new head teacher will take over at Mackenzie Primary School to enable close links with the Ministry of Education. This marks the end of the tenure of our long-standing head teacher Bright, who, due tohis qualifications, has been promoted to a nearby secondary school. While we are very happy for Bright about this new career opportunity, it is also very difficult for us to say goodbye to him.

Bright has been the heart of Mackenzie School for around ten years. He took over as head teacher in 2017 after Sharon, our first professional teacher, recommended him for the position. Sharon herself joined us in 2016 and hired Bright at that time – a decision that has proven to be one of the best in the history of iChange. Under Bright's leadership, the school grew rapidly: he built a strong team, expanded the student body and formed a community that extended far beyond the classroom.

It is particularly touching that Bright was one of the first pupils to attend Mackenzie Community School 25 years ago. His attachment to the school and the community had a profound influence on his work – for him, it was never just a job, but a vocation and a passion.

We also see the government's decision to make the school an official state primary school as recognition of Bright's extraordinary work and the joint commitment of many helpers in Mackenzie. Nevertheless, we know that we will miss Bright very much. We owe him our thanks and highest appreciation for his tireless efforts.

At the same time, we are confident about the future. As the government is not currently planning to provide additional funding for school operations, it continues to rely on our partnership. We therefore remain responsible for financing the existing teaching staff who are not provided by the Ministry of Education. We are also positive and open to further infrastructure projects, as these have also been supported by iChange at regular intervals in the past. At the same time, however, we are also aware that such transitions involve risks; as before, iChange will carry out its work at Mackenzie Primary School with transparency and integrity. Thanks to the great trust we have built up with the community over the years, we are well prepared to shape this new phase together.

Our goal remains unchanged: we want to continue to provide children in Mackenzie and the surrounding communities with access to the highest quality education. We are excited about what the future holds and look forward to working with the new administration to continue pursuing this goal.