March 26th to 29th, 2009
Our International Conference is a time when we gather together in one place with our Church and Organisation Partners, African Service Centers, and International Country Offices to fellowship, build relationships, hear about the work being done and set the tone and work plans for the upcoming year. Mark this time down in your calendars to be with us.
Details to follow.
Have you ever stopped to consider your life and wondered how you got to where you are today? I often do! If you asked me three years ago to tell you where I would be today, in May 2008, I would never have guessed that I would be living in South Africa , a part of Hands at Work in Africa. The past 3 years have changed my life completely. My name is Carly, I’m an ordinary 28 year old woman, who was living an ordinary life in Sydney, Australia. I wasn’t the type of person who dreamt big or looked to do ‘missions’, I simply prayed that God would use me, in whatever way He chose. It’s been an adventure ever since…The Hands at Work in Africa Int'l conference was a huge success with over 75 attendees from 12 different countries.
For those of you that were able to attend here is a file full of all the presentations and handouts from the event. Thanks for coming! See you next year!
George Snyman, founder of Hands at Work in Africa, is touring North America and the UK over the next month and a half. If you are interested in a more detailed itinerary with all the locations that George will be speaking at please email: lynn@handsatwork.org.
by Lize-Marie Theron
For more than a year, I have worked as Hands at Work in Africa’s Human Resources officer, supporting projects across the continent from my office in South Africa. And this January I got my first opportunity to travel with Hands at Work in Africa CEO George Snyman to our projects in Zambia. It was an amazing experience that taught me many things.
We traveled between Kabwe and Luanshya, visitng project leaders and spending time with volunteers on the ground, where I learned much about giving. In Zambia I experienced an unknown freedom in the desire to give. In Zambia money had no meaning. Love was evident and it spoke to me. Of course money is what brings resources to those who serve on the ground, but it was obvious: money is not the solution to Zambia’s problems.
In Kabwe I experienced the heart and passion of a project
With much excitement and joy we announce the official registration of Hands at Work in Africa (USA). Hands USA, as we call ourselves, was officially formed last fall, and our team and activities have continued to develop and grow from that initiation.
While we exist to work with all churches across the USA, it was with Wellspring Church that our passion to start Hands USA was born. I, along with my husband, Henry, and our 3 children, traveled with Wellspring to South Africa last July. We had decided to visit Africa as a family after hosting George and Carolyn at our home for dinner while they were visiting Wellspring Church in 2006. We had been touched by their commitment and compelled to look beyond ourselves here.
That same evening after our guests had left, Henry and I made the decision to go, but also to be open to whatever further involvement God might have for me in serving Africa rather than going back to work or school as I had anticipated in the near future. In Africa, I told George about this decision. His response was incredible. He said, " Lauren, we have been praying for a year about someone like you,
Hands at Work’s initiatives in Zambia are certainly exploding. In West Zambia, incredible new projects are just breaking ground. In Kabwe and Luanshya existing projects are expanding as new communities are also brought into the family. Long-time Hands at Work leaders Sal and Robyn Hunziker recently returned from a 6-week trip to facilitate some of the expanding work across Zambia. Here is a brief snapshot of some of their work, provided by Robyn.
By the way, many readers still know the Hands at Work Luanshya property by its old name: “The Farm”. It’s been renamed, after a gigantic, signature tree growing in the middle of the property. In the Nyanja language the tree’s name is Kachele, representing fullness and vigor. So next time you visit you’ll be welcomed to: “Kachele Village”.
In late August CEO George Snyman and home-based care trainer, Levy Mwenda, left to visit Margart and Dominic, our project leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo. George and Levy report that despite a lack of government infrastructure and no access to ARVs, the amazing project continues to grow, showing love to the sick, caring for orphans, and recently beginning a program for the youth.
Construction of the ground-breaking Hands at Work village continues! A large crew of local workers overseen by volunteer Michael Kaufman and construction manager Sal Hunziker have sweated out 10-hour days getting to roof level of the Footprints training and accommodation center and have also started the staff accommodation. A strong boost is expected on October 17 when a construction team from Westside King’s Church in Calgary arrives to lend a hand.
In a previous post it was written that Hands at Work “needs to be off ASM by the end of the year.” This was incorrecly taken by some readers to mean ASM was throwing us into the street on a whim. That is not the case. ASM is also a growing ministry, and a phased transfer over the next few months to the new property will be done in line with the expansion of both ministries. It was, in fact, ASM who generously provided the land for the new Hands at Work village. And the incredible opportunity to move together as a family of staff, footprints, and visitors to our own land far outweighs the challenges!
Hear more of Hands at Work in Africa's involvement in the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
George Snyman will be spending two weeks in Australia, visiting and speaking at various churches and conferences in Melbourne and Sydney about the plight of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa. Below is George's intinerary for the period 11 to 26 October 2007. If you would like George to speak at your church, please contact him on +27-(0)13-7512341.
Planning is already underway for the 3rd annual Hands at Work International Conference to be held 4 - 7 April, 2008 at the Hana Lodge, South Africa. The international conference is a place where Hands at Work partners and project leaders from around the globe gather to share ideas and plans and to encourage and minister to one another. This year’s agenda promises new opportunities for learning and collaboration among our partners.
As usual, the International Conference will be preceded by the 4-day African conference gathering of Hands at Work leaders from projects across Africa. Project leaders spend time learning from one another, communicating with Hands at Work staff, and, especially, being ministered to. Contact Hands at Work for information on sponsoring a project leader to attend the African conference.
When George first spoke it to the Hands at Work staff, the message was a hard one: “Hands at Work must be off ASM property within six months,” he said. “By January, 2008, we will not live on this campus any longer, we must be on the land we’ve been given.”
A hard message, when spoken on land yet completely bare of buildings. Yet George spoke with a smile, because although it will take a literal miracle to get the property ready for the staff, teams and footprints students to live and work there by January, and although the alternative—scattering the Hands at Work staff around the region—would devastate operations and momentum, he says this is a chance to forge the collective character of Hands at Work like no other.
Since the beginning in 1998, Masoyi Home-Based Care (MHBC) and Hands at Work have operated from the Africa School of Missions (ASM) property in a wonderful partnership that gave Hands facilities and housing and gave ASM students practical outreach opportunities. Last year the process of moving MHBC offices into the community began in faith; in September they will be open.
Click here to tour our Hands at Work in Africa 2006 Year in Review and find out everything about how we opperate. (pdf)
Click here to download the presentation that George Snyman used at the World Aids Conference in Toronto in 2006.
It contains a brief overview of the Hands at Work in Africa vision and mission. The presentation goes into detail in the Masoyi community intervention model in the area of the Lula Care Centre model.
Click here to read the 2005 Hands at Work Annual Report. This report not only gives the financial statements for December 2005 as audited by PriceWaterhouseCooper but also gives a brief overview of some of the work in the 6 countries and the strategy for 2006 - Reaching 100 000 Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) by 2010.