Late last week and through the weekend Cyclone Idai hit South Eastern Africa. What initially looked like a bad storm has turned into disaster for tens of thousands of people, affecting Malawi first with floods, then Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
It is said to be the worst ever weather related disaster to strike the southern hemisphere according to the UN.
We are grateful for the amazing support that we have seen growing in our church and surrounding communities. We have not only seen God’s hand in this but we have witnessed a deep appreciation for what Hands at Work is doing. Through regular visits and strong relationships, people have realised the love and trustworthiness that Hands at Work is based upon and therefore are willing to support the work with their finances and prayers.
At 10 years old, Xiluva* has faced challenges that no child should ever have to face. When her father passed away in 2010, Xiluva was living with her mother and three siblings in Mudzidzi, Mozambique. When her mother remarried in early 2016, she took the children to the community of Macadeira and abandoned them with their ageing grandmother, Orpa*. Xiluva’s world fell apart.
Care Workers are the key in bringing healing and transformation to the lives of our children. They are men and women from the local churches within our communities who recognize their Biblical mandate and answer their call to care for the most vulnerable children. They demonstrate what it means to give freely, love unconditionally, and sacrifice everything. Often, Care Workers face their own traumas and live in dire poverty, just as the children they care for do, but their determination to persevere and care despite their own circumstances challenges everyone they come into contact with. They are greatest in the Kingdom of God!
For the past four years, Chumai has suffered from epilepsy. His mother decided to return to her family because she could not deal with Chumai’s illness or those of the rest of the family, including Chumai’s father. A few months after leaving her children, Chumai’s mother remarried. Tragically Chumai’s father, Joaquim, died after falling from a platform used to dry maize cobs.
Anita and Annabelle are two sisters living in Macadeira in Northern Mozambique. Their community literally sits on the highway 30 km north of the Beira corridor that runs straight into Zimbabwe. It’s a busy trucking route, which drives commercial sex work in the communities and intensifies the vulnerability of young women who live there. Anita and Annabelle are thankful to be able to attend a primary school in the community for now. But they know their dream of attending secondary school will bring real dangers. They’ll need to walk out of their community along the highway to another place to attend the school. They will face the pressures that all young vulnerable girls face in their community: to abandon the indulgence of school in favour of earning income to support their poor families. It’s a pressure too great for many young girls to bear, as evidenced by the incredible rates of HIV, pregnancy and school drop out in the area.
Hands at Work began working with local church and community leaders in Macadeira in 2011 by gathering the churches and demonstrating the heart of Christ to see His church united together in caring for the most vulnerable people in their community. To overcome their lack of material possessions, the churches are being trained to see the strength of combining resources and working across denominational lines. They are also being challenged to get deep into the lives of the poorest children, sharing their burdens and providing love, support and mentorship to address the enormous challenges they face daily. Change looks possible for the future.
Recently, the community’s leaders announced the plan to start making bricks from scratch with the aim of building their own secondary school. That is very good news for hundreds of children like Anita and Annabelle.
When Gertrude was 6 years old her father died, leaving her mother to care for her and her 4 year old brother, Alexandre. “It was sad for us to lose our father,” Germena says. “It was difficult. No one was helping us, and my mother worked very hard in the fields to provide food for us. We did not have any money and many times we went to bed hungry. Without a father in the house we did not feel safe and were scared of other people to abuse us.”
In the past we have done two conferences, both in South Africa. An Africa conference with our African service center partners and an international conference with our African partners and many international churches and donors as well.
This year instead of having the conferences in just South Africa we will be holding four regional conferences that will be open to anyone interested in attending. The Hands at Work family is growing at a rapid rate which means that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get everyone to South Africa. This means we can bring the conferences closer to home for the Service Centres involved, also allowing our international visitors flexibility and possibly allow them to attend in the country of their interest. In the past we have only been able to have a very small number of community based organizations (CBO) representatives present. By holding regional conferences it will also enable greater CBO participation and give more people exposure to the vision of Hands at Work.
The conference schedule is as follows:
South Africa & Swaziland | March 24-27 | Hands at Work in Africa near White River, South Africa
Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo & Malawi | April 15-18 | Luanshya, Zambia
Mozambique & Zimbabwe | April 22-25 | TBD
Nigeria | May 20-23 | Lagos, Nigeria
We are excited about the new opportunities that hosting regional conferences will bring. All are welcome to come and be a part of the different regional conferences. If you are interested in attending or helping fund the conferences please contact us at info@handsatwork.org.
View more of last year's conference in photos
Flora is 15 years old. Life began well for her, her 3 sisters and 4 brothers. Unfortunately, sadness came in her life as her father died when she was only 12 years old. Then the hard work began, as she was now responsible for the family as her mother was also sick and could not work. Flora, grade 8, has missed much school due to the problems often missing school to sell vegetables and charcoal by the roadside. The family received help from Gondola Home Based Care (HBC) in 2007. They have helped with food, clothes and are now helping with her education. She knows her mother will die soon, but Flora wants to complete her education and believes this will help her take care of her brothers and sister and get them through their education as well.
