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August 23, 2023
We’re going to be introducing one of our Care Workers regularly from across Africa. Today we want you to meet Mercy from Temitope Community in Nigeria.
“My name is Mercy, and I have four children. I have been a Care Worker for six years. I love children to always be around me and I love caring for them. Seeing the children makes me happy, and visiting them in their homes and learning more about them encourages me to care for them even more as I can see their challenges.”
December 30, 2021
When Care Worker Mercy noticed four-year-old Elizabeth* wandering around the community with her two siblings, she could see that they were in desperate need of care and attention. Only a year earlier, Elizabeth’s mother became very sick and sadly passed away, leaving the family heartbroken and overcome by poverty. Attending the Care Point has given Elizabeth a place to belong and spend time with other children. Elizabeth feels safe to express her sadness about losing her mother with the Care Workers, and they support her in any way they can. Please pray for Elizabeth as she continues to heal and mourn the loss of her mother.
- Temitope Community, Nigeria
March 15, 2022
The local Hands at Work team in Nigeria reflects on Sis Moji, one of the Care Workers in Temitope Community, Nigeria, who is caring for some of the most vulnerable children.
“When we first met Sis Moji, she was really struggling. We did a Holy Home Visit at her home and told her about the ‘Jesus We Know’ and also what God wants us to do for the orphans and the most vulnerable children in our community. After hearing about the vision, she decided to join as a Care Worker. And since she joined, she has not regretted it because God is always making a way for her.
She is always happy when she is playing with the children and when they are close to her. The children are happy when they see her, and that makes her happy. She sees the Care Point as her home. She loves caring for the children.”
December 14, 2021
“This has been a tough year for Famitoh, but it’s amazing to see the way that she continues to love and care for our children and visit them in Temitope. She has referred to the story of Elijah and his servant in the Bible, and how God sees her. When the local Hands at Work team in Lagos, Nigeria, saw her struggles, they came alongside her and helped her start a small business to help her provide for her family. That is her praise point. God sees her in her struggles, and God has raised up people to come and who are for her.” – Xolani Makwakwa, Hands at Work Leader.
Famitoh is one of our Care Workers in Temitope Community in Nigeria. Before she became a Care Worker, she was the Primary Caregiver of four of our children coming to the Care Point.
June 24, 2022
The Care Point has become a safe place for Boaz and his siblings to come and play with their friends, as well as receive a meal. If their caregivers are away, they know that they have a group of mother figures who will check in and care for them.
Seeing the impact that the Care Workers have on her children, Boaz’s mother has become a Care Worker herself! She shares her challenges and is healing as she visits other families living in similar situations.
Care Worker Mercy shares, “It’s so great to see Boaz’s mother visiting other children and to see how God is busy transforming her and her family!” – Temitope Community, Nigeria
August 7, 2021
While seven-year-old Amos* and his sister Wendy have only been coming to the Temitope Care Point since the beginning of 2021, the Care Workers can already testify to the difference that they see in these two children, who have started to make friends and are growing in their confidence. The Care Point is a safe place where Amos and Wendy can simply be children and experience Christ-like love from the Care Workers. – Temitope Community, Nigeria
April 15, 2021
Taiwo, a member of the local Hands at Work team in Lagos, Nigeria, teaching the children in Temitope community what it means to work together by carrying a bucket of water that will be used to wash dishes at the Care Point.
September 26, 2020
When the homes of two Care Workers in Temitope Community, Nigeria, needed repairs, the local Hands at Work team in Lagos saw this as a beautiful opportunity to involve the youth. Several of the older boys were asked to participate, and they spent time sharing God’s word and our need for Jesus before beginning the home repairs.
January 10, 2021
Temitope is a slum community in #Nigeria located on a rubbish pile near the edge of the water. When it rains, the tides flood areas where people live, forcing them to get up from where they sleep to keep out of the water.
Early in 2020, the small wooden shack where five-year-old Maris* and his family lived collapsed and so they squatted in an empty home. Thankfully, the Care Workers, together with the local Hands at Work team in Lagos, were able to build a simple wooden home, giving the family a safe place to sleep.
December 27, 2019
Temitope Community, #Nigeria. Three-year-old Abigail* is supported by #CareWorker Mariam, who has helped Abigail's mother carry the burden of life since Abigail’s father left.
August 18, 2019
Temitope Community, Nigeria.
Talkative four-year-old Excel* radiates the shining light of Christ. Mercy, the coordinator of the Temitope Community Based Organisation, found Excel while doing Holy Home Visits. She quickly realised that Excel, along with his siblings, were amongst the most vulnerable living in Temitope. With no one to help him, he would often run through the community, seemingly alone in a world without food or comfort. When his father died, life became even more difficult for his mother, who spends her days selling fish. Mercy invited Excel and his brother to the Care Point. Excel’s mother knows that her children are in a secure and loving environment that is out of harm’s way and is relieved that she no longer has to carry her burdens alone.
July 2, 2019
Temitope Community, #Nigeria
Two years ago, Ruth* was severely malnourished. Her stomach was protruding and she struggled to walk because her small legs could barely carry her body. Upon following her home, they realised that she was living with people who weren’t her own family as her mother had passed away and her father was unable to care for Ruth.
Immediately, Toyin, member of the local Hands at Work team in Lagos and Jackie, African Leader (#Kenya), invited Ruth to the Temitope Care Point where she could be holistically cared for by local #CareWorkers, with support from the local Hands at Work team in Lagos. As Ruth was loved and cared for, her body started healing and growing stronger. It is only from the Christ-like love and support of the Care Workers that Ruth is a healthy and strong six-year-old today.
#ServingTheMostVulnerable
November 17, 2018
Care Workers identified five-year-old Jonathan* and his four siblings as amongst the most vulnerable after the death of their father a year ago. Jonathan’s mother was struggling to care for her children and providing the most basic necessities was an immense challenge. The children were often left alone as their mother went to sell bread and tea in the nearby communities. But today, Jonathan is a lively and happy boy, who loves time with his friends at the Care Point.
Temitope Community, Nigeria
February 6, 2018
Meet Orianna*
Four-year-old Orianna is a gentle, jovial and attentive girl who enjoys being read to and playing with the other children at the Temitope Care Point. It is here at the Care Point where she feels most safe and is taught basic kindergarten skills. She loves learning numbers. Although she is young, she has dreams of being a teacher one day. Orianna was identified as one of the most vulnerable children in the community when she was found by the Care Workers from the Temitope Community Based Organisation (CBO) walking along the road alone. They recognised that this was an incredibly vulnerable and dangerous position for a young girl, so they walked with her to her home. At home, they were greeted by her family and learned their story.
Orianna lives with her parents and older siblings in a small, one-roomed home. Her mother sells fish at the local market in an effort to feed her family, however the profit that she earns is not enough to adequately provide for the family. Orianna’s father used to have employment, but due to economic challenges in the area, he is unable to find work; leaving the family to survive on a very small income. The surrounding ocean bay floods the community of Temitope at high tide each day, leaving residual water stagnating around homes resulting in a high mosquito population and increased malaria contraction. Orianna’s family home is not exempt from this and their home regularly floods when it rains, adding another layer of vulnerability.
In 2017, Orianna and her older brothers were brought to the Temitope Care Point where they receive a hot and nutritious meal daily, access to basic education and health care. Orianna and her family are visited on a regular basis by her Care Worker, Mercy who brings support, encouragement and a Christ-like love to the family. Due to the dedication and commitment of the Care Workers, Orianna and her brothers are being cared for and supported which helps her parents who struggle to make ends meet.
August 7, 2017
Meet Katrina*. Katrina is no stranger to the challenges many children in her community face. In her four short years of life, she knows loss, hunger, rejection, and sickness. It is young lives like Katrina’s that motivate Care Workers in Temitope Community to keep following Christ’s call to care for the most vulnerable. Mr. Alet, a local volunteer Care Worker, together with Toyin from the Hands at Work local office, first met Katrina while they did visits in the community. Toyin and Mr. Alet knew she was one of the most vulnerable – not just from her story, but by her appearance. Katrina has lived through the abandonment of her own father, and tragically, her mother died while giving birth to her, which set baby Katrina on a path of illness. Katrina is often sick, and is quite small for her age. But thankfully, Katrina was not left on her own; her aunt took her in and began caring for her. Though she does all she can to care emotionally for Katrina, she is unable to provide for all Katrina’s physical needs. Mr. Alet recently began caring for Katrina, and when she first started coming to the Care Point she was very weak and required much assistance. But, God has sustained and greatly improved her health through Mr. Alet and the other Care Workers. In just six weeks of attending the Care Point, Katrina is already looking physically much healthier! The Care Point is quickly becoming a place of refuge for Katrina. She sees Care Workers as people to feed her and care for her health, and the Care Point as an opportunity to build friendships with other children. Through the Christ-like love and compassion of Care Workers like Mr. Alet, Katrina is daily being given a sense of belonging and great hope.