“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.”
Over this past week many areas in Southern Africa have experienced high winds and heavy rainfall particularly Zambia in the Kabwe and Chisamba regions have been hit very hard.
There has been significant damage caused to a number of homes within the communities we serve. In some cases, homes collapsed in the night, leaving families with nowhere to go.
The two of us who had previously gone to Africa through Hands at Work shared stories of what we might have experienced while there — stories of Holy Home Visits, attending local churches, and building relationships with long-term volunteers. At the end of the two weeks, the team realised that we would have arrived home. We agreed that we did not want to stop meeting.
Through serving and working with different people, I am a changed person. Not just in the communities, but in my family. I am a leader at my church because of the things that I have gone through and now people can trust me. If I was where I had been, than maybe I wouldn’t be alive, but God saved my life. That's why I also want to serve, to give life to other people.
As the years quickly went by, early retirement became an option for us in September 2014. At that point we began to earnestly seek God about what our next steps would be. With many ups and downs, questions, concerns and conversations with our family about this big decision to make, we knew that God was calling us to Africa.
Before he could even walk, Agnes would carry him on her back and he would look on as she cultivated her small plot of land, often working for 12 hours a day. Today, eight-year-old Jonah accompanies his grandmother to her field when he is not in school. He plays his part in helping his grandmother to secure their future.
In early 2015, while visiting children on Holy Home Visits, Care Workers came across Clement and his siblings once again. The children were begging for food and the four of them looked malnourished and unwell. The loving Christ-like hearts of the Care Workers compelled them to follow the children back to their home and find out more about their situation.
Hands at Work are in the process of evaluating how our Community Based Organisation’s (CBO) will operate across Zambia during this season under the current government regulations. We are looking at alternative solutions to ensure the most vulnerable children continue to have access to important daily services.
When I was four years old my mother passed away and was followed by my father two years later. My grandma decided to take me in but I wasn’t treated kindly by the people in my village. When my grandma died in 1987, my uncle brought me to live with his family for two years before my auntie kicked me out.
Lisa and Brian Dalley have been volunteers for Hands at Work since 2008. They started in Canada serving for the Hands Canada office and came to serve long term in Africa in 2015. They are currently living at the Kachele Village in Zambia where Lisa serves with teams and supports Team Kitwe and Brian does building, construction and HR.
“I planted 12 meda* of soya beans, I expected to harvest 18-20 x 50 kg bags. I only harvested 2 bags.”
“I planted 20 kg of maize seed, I expected to harvest 60 x 50 kg bags. There is no harvest; the rains just did not come after I planted.”
“I planted 15 kg of maize seed. From planting the same amount of seed last year, I harvested 32 x 50 kg bags. This year I only harvested 12 bags.”
