At Hands at Work our volunteers are called by God from all over the world to serve the most vulnerable in Africa. Each of us has a unique story of how we were transformed when we stepped out in faith and were obedient to His call. Jane Matsanura shares her story and the journey that has led her to fully trust and serve in her local area of Zimbabwe.
I was born into a family of nine and lived with both of my parents until my father passed away in 1980. When my father passed away, we stayed living with my mother. Because my family was big, my mother struggled to care for us well, and so she went to work in the plantations on the tea estates in the Honde Valley. From there, life improved a little bit when she was working there. When I was 20 years old, I went to look for work as a house maid in town, because my mother had a lot of kids to look after and needed the extra support. Working as a house maid was difficult. When I was 22 years old, I had the option of getting married, which seemed better than working as a house maid. So, in 1991, I got married, had my first child in 1993, then a second child who was born in 1995. When my husband was killed in a road accident, I was seven months pregnant with our third child. My last born doesn’t know his father because by the time he was born, his father had already passed. It was challenging after he passed away because I had to care for the needs of all my children alone. At times, I had to step into that ‘father-figure’ position because there was no one else.
In 2008, I heard about Hands at Work from Farai Gunhe, African Leader (Zimbabwe), who came to the Honde Valley to share about the vision of Hands at Work. When Farai came and shared the vision, a woman named Marvis, Farai and I started looking for the most vulnerable children to care for, which at that time was 25 children. From there, we grew a team of Care Workers around us. I served as the coordinator of the Pimai B Community Based Organisation for ten years and we slowly expanded to caring for 150 children. My favourite part about being the coordinator was bringing people to one place and then, in unity, sharing the word of God. I love being one family.
In 2016 I was asked if I would be the coordinator of the local Hands at Work team in the Honde Valley, which supports five of the most vulnerable communities, including Pimai B. Initially I refused, because I knew that I needed to train one of the other Care Workers, Sarah, to be the coordinator of the Pimai B CBO. In 2017, once I had trained Sarah, I transitioned from being the coordinator of the Pimai B CBO to being the coordinator of the local Hands at Work team.
I grew up in the white robed church, where they don’t know the ‘Jesus that We Know’ and believe that women aren’t allowed to share the Word of God and be fully part of the Christian work. It was tough. When I joined Hands at Work, I was exposed to the ‘Jesus We Know’, and my eyes were opened. I started understanding Christianity much better than I had before. I came to know Christ. From that time until now, I am a healed person. I don’t have any more wounds.
Our children and Primary Caregivers are wounded. Our challenge is visiting wounded people and trying to bring healing to the wounds of the children and their grandmothers. Seeing the challenges of the children reminds me of when I was a child, because I have been in those situations.
I love that every day we read the Bible and share the good news. At Hands at Work we love one another, and I have grown in my knowledge of God and in my ability to share with other people.
Jane lives in the Honde Valley, Zimbabwe. She continues to serve as the coordinator of the local Hands at Work team in the Honde Valley, who support five communities.