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. Gideon and Ritha’s stories start from different areas in Zambia, but the journey God has brought them both on has led them into a beautiful story of love, adventure, and serving Him together. Both of them are confident of God’s calling, and here they share their story of serving and following Christ.
Gideon:
“I grew up living with both of my parents but when I was five years old, they got divorced. I remained living with my older sister until I finished school. Both of my parents have passed away. I finished school with the support of my sister, who was like a mother figure to me. When my sister got married, she moved to Kitwe and I remained living in her home in Luanshya. She continued to support me and ensure that I was able to attend school. Growing up, I wanted to become a teacher and so once I finished school, I applied for university and got accepted. Sadly, my sister passed away a week before I started university. Even though I was able to study, it wasn’t easy to pay for school fees and I never had the opportunity to teach because I didn’t have the funds to pay for the final teaching examination.
In the area where I was living, there was a pastor named Jacob who watched over me, in a similar way to the Care Workers watching over the children we serve. At that time, I was working in the mines but was connected to two international volunteers who were sharing how the youth can have a better impact in school, and so I got involved with a charity similar to Hands at Work and became a youth leader. We would walk closely with the youth, helping them with their homework and sharing how they could make better life choices. I loved what I was doing. I ended up becoming their bookkeeper and administrator. Eventually, I got involved with a Community Based Organisation that was connected to Hands at Work, where I served for five years. In 2012, I joined Hands at Work full-time and was helping with different things that needed to be done.
Over the years, I have gone through many seasons of redemption and healing. I have learned so much and also been challenged by what it means to have big eyes and a small mouth. I have been pushed in unbelievable ways and shown what it means to go against my own culture and rather live out Kingdom Culture. People have addressed things in my life that have allowed me to open up and become real and vulnerable. God has given me an opportunity to be set free and has given me a fresh start – all from his never-ending grace.”
Ritha:
“It has not been an easy road for me and my family as my parents are divorced. This happened when I was young but it was a tough journey. My father ended up getting married to my stepmother, who didn’t accept us as her own. She ended up neglecting me and my seven siblings. In grade 8, all of us children went to stay in different places with other relatives. Eventually, my mother remarried and was running her own business. In grade 9, my stepfather got sick, and then in October of that year, he passed away. He was the person who had been financially supporting me through school. So, when he passed, all of us siblings went back to stay with our mother. When my stepfather passed, it was tough because that was where my hope had been. I managed to finish grade 12, but it resulted in not having good results because sometimes I didn’t go to school or was chased from school because I didn’t have enough school fees.
Before I joined Hands at Work, I had been supporting my mother with her business, as she was the one who was supporting us in purchasing the essential items that we needed. In 2013, Gideon and I got married, and he was serving with Hands at Work. When we got married, Hands started inviting me to participate in things that were happening. As I was coming to Hands, I started developing that desire to serve because I could see myself in the shoes of the children, especially those whose parents were divorced. When I first joined Hands at Work, I was helping with the international teams that came to visit Africa and supporting with the occasional children’s camp, but today I am a member of the Zimbabwe Regional Support Team.
Through spending time with Hands at Work, I came to see the greater picture of what was being done and I wanted to be a part of it. My journey with Hands at Work reminds me of where I have come from. I have walked through many challenges similar to the children that we are serving. God has taught me to continue to trust in and hold onto Him because he never fails his people. I have seen how I should be depending on God because God is the only answer.
I’ve experienced growth in my spiritual life and in my ability to have relationships with others. Everything that we do as Hands at Work is biblical. We aren’t serving just for the sake of serving but we are doing it because Jesus served. This gives me the courage to say that this work that I am doing, is for the Lord. I’ve been in these situations, and that gives me the courage to help our children and to be a voice in their challenges.”
Together:
“Serving together has been a really good journey for us. We could see that we are the product of this ministry because we've gone through many challenges which gives us the heart to serve these children and give hope to the children. When you see a situation that you've never been in, you can encourage from that place, but if you've been through it, it gives you the ability to give even deeper encouragement. You give that hope to that person.”
In 2013, Gideon and Ritha got married and together they have two children – Semba (9) and Mwendama (4). Though they are originally from Zambia and served with Hands in Zambia for many years, they moved to Malawi in 2022, where they serve together on the Zimbabwe Regional Support Team which supports Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi.