40 Days of Prayer
Hands at Work
Meet Mwete

Raising a large family isn’t easy but Mama Safi isn’t alone in caring for Mwete. He has a bigger family of support at the Care Point, with the Care Workers and the other children.

Meet Mwete

Save the dates, and start saving to travel!

 

Hands at Work will once again be hosting four Regional Celebrations and our International Country Office Meeting in 2011. Last year was a huge success. Vision and heart were imparted and shared amongst a larger audience then ever. It was a great time of connecting, encouraging and celebrating. Read more about it here.

 

So get out your pencils and jot down the following 2011 Regional Celebrations dates:

South Africa and Swaziland / March 23 - 25, 2011 / Hands at Work near White River, South Africa

Zambia, DRC and Malawi / April 13 - 15, 2011 / Kafakumba Lodge near Luanshya, Zambia

Int’l Country Office Meeting / April 16 - 17, 2011 / Kachele Farm near Luanshya, Zambia

If you are interested in attending or helping fundraise for this chance to acknowledge and appreciate our Community Based Organisations and Service Center Field offices in each of these countries for the incredible life-giving work they do then please contact us at info@handsatwork.org.

Team up!

The Nurses for Africa team was touched by the community as much as it appreciated their visitHands at Work is privileged to see a number of teams step over our communities' thresholds every year.

2010 has been no different: This year alone Zambia has been blessed by two partner churches (Rock Church from Halifax, Canada and Grace Church from Racine, USA), and two Nurses for Africa teams with nurses from all over Illinois.

Luanshya, also in Zambia, hosted a team from Perth, Australia.

The Forge Church from Suffolk in the UK sent a building team and a team to run a kids camp in Luanshya, and Zion Christian Centre from West Midlands, UK sent a team to explore new communities in Kitwe and beyond with a view to setting up new partnerships.

Click here to view pictures from the Australian and Nurses for Africa teams and a team from Saskatoon (Canada) on our Flickr page.

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Where will their hope come from? (DRC)

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John is a 27-year-old, single man whose dream is simply to work so that he can provide for a family. Something, he feels, he can only do with good education under his belt. After he lost his parents, when John was only ten years old, his older brother took care of him and taught him how to work. John finished his secondary schooling, but hasn't been able to afford a tertiary education.

For John, from Goma in the war-torn eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), life is very difficult. The entire North Kivu province is marked with hardship and suffering. Life is about surviving another day.

It wasn't always like this. Locals say tourists visited the region, famous as home to the Great Lakes, as recent as 2002. Today - though endowed with vast reserves of gold, copper, cobalt and diamonds - volcano eruptions and increasingly violent rebel attacks have effectively strangled the area.

The eight-year, bloody war has been over for seven years, but the fighting continues. Despite this, the government which is celebrating its 50th year of independence, has closed most of the refugee camps scattered across the eastern provinces of the DRC leaving millions of people homeless. Zambia – impoverished and without much to offer Congolese refugees – has, too, closed two of its camps.

A young family fighting for survivalLeft with little choice, refugees are returning to their burned-down, vandalised towns often without family members. Stunned, groups of people - unrelated other than sharing the same adversity - congregate to from huddles of make-do communities.

Last month Hands at Work founder, George Snyman, visited eastern DRC.

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George Snyman in Saskatoon (CA)

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Hands founder, George Snyman, will be speaking at two venues in Saskatoon next month. Have a look below for more details. Scroll down a bit further if you're based in Calgary, the USA or the UK for details on his speaking engagements there.

Looking forward to seeing you!

 

Date Thursday, 18 November

Venue University of Saskatchewan, Health Sciences B6

Time 12:30 - 01:30pm

 

Date Thursday, 18 November

Venue Hosted by Lakeview Church - open to the public. Click here for directions.

Time 07:00pm

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Hands founder, George, to take a tour of 'duty' in the USA

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George Snyman's six-week tour is underway. He will spending time in the UK and Canada before visiting the USA. Spending nearly three weeks in the country, he will be speaking in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minneapolis from 3 to 23 November.

George is known for being an encouraging and challenging speaker. He will not only be talking about Hands at Work, but also about our mandate as Christians to respond to poverty. Not to be missed!

Date Wednesday, 3 November
Venue University of Wisconsin-Madison
Time 08:00pm 

"This is not OK"
AIDS is the greatest orphan maker of our time. If we really do want justice we must wake up... Individuals can change the world! Join K Love and live worship by The Spark as George Snyman speaks about his life's work. Download the flyer.
Date Thursday, 4 November
Venue Grace in Racine, 3626 Hwy 31, Racine, WI
Time 07:00pm

Also see George at Grace in Racine on Sunday!

"This is not OK"
Come, listen to The Spark and hear George Snyman speak about his life's work caring and advocating for the most vulnerable, destitute and orphaned victims of AIDS in Africa. Download the flyer.
Date Friday, 5 November
Venue Glenview Community Church, 1000 Elm Street, Glenview, IL
Time 07:00pm

Date Sunday, 7 November
Venue Grace in Racine, 3626 Highway 31, Racine, WI
Time 8:30am and 10:15

 

Church Services
Date Sunday, 21 November
Venue Cornerstone Community Church, Orange County
Time Sunday services 09:00am and 11:00am

Love God, Love Your Neighbor
Date Tuesday, 23 November
Venue Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, MN
Time 06:30pm - 09:00pm

George will also be interviewed on radio! Tune in:

Date Monday, 1 November
Time 1:15pm
Radio station George will be interviewed by Frank Carmichael on Happenings Radio AM1050 WLIP

Date Tuesday, 2 November
Time 6:00pm 
Radio station Milwaukee Public Radio 

Date Wednesday, 3 November
Time 10:00 – 11:00am
Radio station Live interview via telephone with Nancy Turner from Moody Bible Radio
Heard on 90.1 FM Chicago and AM 1110 Chicago

Date Friday, 5 November
Time 3:00pm
Radio station Interviewed by Jerome McDonald, Worldview on Chicago Public Radio

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Calgary, you're next up! (CA)

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Calgary, get your diaries out and make a note of the dates below.

As part of his six-week tour of the UK, Canada and the USA, George will be speaking at four gatherings in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Don't miss it!

 

Date Friday, 12 November

Venue Westside King's Church, West Hall, 3939 - 69 Street SW, Calgary

Time 07:30pm

Tickets $60

 

Date Sunday, 14 November

Venue Freedom House, Calgary Dream Centre Campus, 4510 Macleod Trail SE, Calgary

Time 09:30am coffee and conversation and 10:00am service

 

Date Sunday, 14 November

Venue Westside Kings Church, 3939 69 Street SW, Calgary

Time Unedited Service at 07:00pm

 

Date Monday, 15 November

Venue Downtown Public Library, The Central Library, Meeting Room 1, 616 Macleod Trail SE, Calgary

Time 07:00pm (Doors open to public at 06:30pm)

 

Date Tuesday, 16 November

Venue La Vita Belle, 401 12th Avenue SE, Calgary

Time 09:00 - 11:00am

Everyone welcome!

 

Date Tuesday, 16 November  

Venue Fish Creek Public Library, 11161 Bonaventure Drive SE, Calgary (SE corner of South Centre Shopping Centre, across the street from the Family Leisure Centre)

Time 6:00pm

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George soon to hit the UK

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Hands at Work founder, George Snyman, has kicked off his six-week tour of the UK, Canada and the USA. He will be speaking at a number of churches during his visit. Not to be missed!

Have a look below for the dates and venues of the UK leg of the tour. Canada and USA tour details soon to follow.

 

George and his wife, Carolyn, on the airwaves!

George and Carolyn will be interviewed on Premier Christian Radio on Saturday, 23 October.

Time 08.25am

You can listen in London on Medium Wave 1305, 1332 and 1413, nationally on Sky Digital 0123, Freeview 725 and DAB. You can also listen online.

 

George's other speaking engagements:

Date Saturday, 23 October

Venue St Luke’s Church, Cell Barnes Lane, St Albans AL1 5QJ

Time Afternoon service

 

Date Sunday, 24 October

Venue The Forge Community Church, The Old Chapel, Forward Green, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 5HP

Time 09.30am and 11.30am services

 

Date Monday, 25 October

Venue Greenfinch Church, Greenfinch Avenue, Ipswich, Suffolk IP2 0SQ

Time 07:30pm

 

Date Sunday, 31 October

Venue Zion Church, Little Cornbow, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 3AJ

Time 09:00am and 11:00pm

Children’s Day in Lagos, Nigeria

In the slums of Ilaje in Lagos, Nigeria - where the majority of children have little to no access to food, education and basic health care - a memorable day was organised for children there. On this day in late May, schools from more privileged areas in Lagos came to be with the children in the Ilaje community and brought gifts of food, clothes and pens and books. One of the kids from Grace School, who was having a birthday, shared his birthday by celebrating the day with the kids in the community.

Fidson Healthcare provided medicine to be distributed to those in need by the Hands at Work office. The day birthed a beginning of something special and the Ilaje community, together with all the other community-based organisations in Lagos, marked this day Children’s Day.

Many, visiting Ilaje for the first time, were surprised that this level of disparity existed in Lagos. Yet, the kids felt loved and cared for, and everyone present had a positive response.

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Aiding 4000 in desperate need in Bushbuckridge, SA

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Bushbuckridge in South Africa is known for being one of the poorest areas in South Africa. With the majority of its inhabitants being refugees from Mozambique who moved to the area during the time of war. For this reason, many of them were left vulnerable without homes to live in, and identity documentation that could grant them government help. Bushbuckridge was one of the first places Hands at Work moved into to begin a service centre and now hosts the majority of the children to whom we offer service in South Africa.

Things have not always been easy, as many of the kids were not able to receive grants because they lacked South African identification documents (IDs) and birth certificates. At the beginning of July Hands at Work held a USAID sponsored grant jamboree in Bushbuckridge. The jamboree gathered government workers, social workers, home affairs officials and community shop owners in one place to help about 4000 community members, most of whom were orphans and the elderly in desperate need of obtain ID documents, birth certificates and government grants. Of the 4000 community members, 29 received grants (26 of whom are orphans) and almost 200 ID documents and birth certificates were issued.

The jamboree was a great success and has created many new opportunities for children and families.

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Celebration across Africa a Huge Success! (SA) (ZAM) (MOZ) (NIG)

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In early April this year we began celebrating with our communities and family across Africa: First in South Africa, then Zambia, on to Mozambique and finally in Nigeria in late May, covering all the regions in which we work.

This involved a large representation of our care workers and office staff coming together for a time to be refreshed, to build relationships, and to re-establish the vision, core values and the roles which each of us play. Now is the Time was the theme of the celebration and a strong Word shared throughout the conference was, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news."

Here is some feedback from those who attended our celebrations:

From our South Africa Region with Swaziland Celebration

“[I realised] that we all have beautiful feet. We just need to keep walking in the name of Jesus.”

“[I realised] children are an important part of the future.”

“[I realised] starting with money is not as important as starting with the vision. Then God will provide as long as you serve Him faithfully.”

“I realised the extent of compassion which exists within the community-based organisations, and Hands at Work in the field, is sacrificial, Biblical, humbling and spurs me into action.”

“[I realised] I’m a voice to the voiceless and I should speak and do things on their behalf.”

We're Listening (CA)

As is often the case, George speaks and people listen.  It was no different for us at Lakeview Church in Saskatoon, Canada.  After having heard the heart wrenching stories of orphaned children living in squalor, of grandmothers forced to work well into old age to feed the grandchildren they were now responsible for, of violence, heartache and despair, we were weighed down by the heaviness of oppression. But the story wasn’t left there. George then painted a picture of solidarity and hope, brought about through the unification of the church doing true religion, “to look after orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1v27). Many of us at Lakeview fell in love with the vision. 

Soon after George spoke, a few people from the congregation formed a group of advocates who called themselves “Lakeview Hands”. They started spreading the news about the call on the church to serve the poorest of the poor. Slowly people started making trips, on their own and then in groups.  Of course as more and more people met and fell in love with people in Africa, it seemed practical to come up with ways to raise awareness and money at home in order to support Hands at Work in Africa. The wider church body became involved around Christmas 2008 when the church launched an advent conspiracy campaign with all money going to support a community in Zambia. 

The campaign was a great success in getting the word out about Hands at Work.  The money raised built a small schoolhouse and provided food, education and basic health care to over 50 children in the desperate slum - Mulenga, Zambia.  Following that there were a number of fundraisers including an “ice-cream sundae sale” and “massive yard sale”, which together raised over $4000...

In a War-Ravaged Region (DRC)

Children in streets of burned down village.

Hands at Work in Africa founder George Snyman is in Goma, DRC this week. You have heard about Goma: it’s the war-ravaged region in north-eastern DRC where millions have died, suffered mass rapes, and been driven from their homes into refugee camps. The war was recently declared over, and the camps have been closed. People are streaming back to burned and destroyed villages, trying to figure out Orphans and widows just outside of meeting with church leaders.how to start re-building. This is the time for Hands at Work to get involved. The situation remains unstable; division and suspicion within communities are rife. But we are committed to reaching the poorest of the poor, and right now that’s in Goma. Now is the time to be there.

Please pray for George. Pray for wisdom, for guidance to find the local people burning with compassion, and for the right village to establish a model of local churches collaborating to serve the most vulnerable orphans and widows with basic care.

To read more, follow George on Twitter. You can also read this article published by the NY Times this week.

 

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Carpentry Workshop Expansions (SA)

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Weston and Liz Muronzi, together with their three children moved from Zimbabwe to South Africa in 1997. After serving for several years in other missions work they found and joined Hands at Work in 2008, quickly slotting themselves in to a place that both served Hands and that utilised their skills. Weston, a carpenter, began using his skills to train some of the young orphaned men and Liz started using her hospitality skills to host and cater to visiting teams and the larger Hands family. While their youngest son Act is still in school, their son Adonis is working with Hands in the marketing department and their oldest daughter Prudence is working outside of Hands.

2009 was a busy year for Weston as Hands Village was being developed. He supplied all the homes with cupboards and kitchen fittings. This proved to be good for the guys he had been training to test out their new skills and to gain experience. And in 2010 a new opportunity came about for the carpentry team: it happened that a local carpenter was moving and offered to sell his carpentry tools and supplies at half price to Hands. With the help of friends in UK and Netherlands, they managed to buy the tools. This not only gave the carpentry team an opportunity to expand and train more guys from the community but also opened a door to start a small income generating project to support the work of Hands at Work.

Weston’s dream to impart life skills while generating funds for the work of Hands is reachable. Now we are only praying that God will send more volunteers with carpentry skills and the same heart to train young men while sharing the love of Christ. If you have carpentry skills or are interested in supporting the carpentry skills development program. Contact Weston: weston@handsatwork.org

Read more about this and other specific opportunities to serve.

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Facing Reality

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"Shelly VanBinsbergen is from Saskatoon Canada, She is a Friend of Hands at Work and occasionally comes and visits and gets involved with the work. Last year Shelly VanBinsbergen took a team from her church to Mulenga, Zambia; she became friends with some of the Care Workers there and continues to have a close relationship with them. This is her reflection, after hearing news from her friends in Zambia”

This week I have been thinking about Zambia, a lot. I spent last week with some very good friends and it reminded me how there are places in one's life that can't be filled with anything but deep relationships.

Africa on Their Shoulders

Johnny, Holly, Hannah and JoeyMany kids spend their summers playing sports, hanging out with friends, and avoiding as much responsibility as possible, but not the Gilchrists.  This summer Johnny, 12; Joey, 11; Holly, 8; and Hannah, 6, did odd jobs to raise money for the Baraka community in Zambia. 

Recently, Bridgette Gilchrist of Northbrook, IL, heard about Hands at Work in Africa from a friend, Chloe Steinke.  Chloe had invited a handful of people to a Skype call she held at her house with the founder of Hands at Work, George Snyman.

Bridgette Gilchrist said, “After talking to George, I was really excited

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The Woman of Courage (NIG)

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Name changed to protect identity

Susan is a small woman with a very shy smile and a gentle demeanor. She speaks softly. Susan is 24 years old and has 3 children – ages 2, 4 and 6. She is HIV positive.

Her story is one of hardship and survival. In 2007, Susan was living happily with her husband and children. She never considered herself at risk for HIV until she began to notice the health of her youngest child, still an infant at the time, quickly deteriorating. While receiving medical treatment, she decided to have both herself and her youngest child tested. Needless to say, Susan was shocked to learn that both she and her baby had tested positive for HIV.

Shortly after discovering that their baby was sick, Susan’s husband abandoned her and has not returned since. It was during this time that she experienced the greatest of hardships. She could not afford to pay rent, water, or electricity bills. She decided to take her children and go and live with her mother, who herself is struggling to survive in

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The Blood of Christ Covers Me (ZAM)

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The ‘Jesus is Lord’ stenciled in green letters across the wall of his house indicates the attitude with which Daniel approaches life.  The 64-year-old, HIV-positive man doesn’t hesitate when asked about himself.  In strained but clear English, he concisely tells of his life.  He tells of the strong reaction he had to the ARVs he began taking two years prior, of the hard lesson that it is necessary to take food with the drug or your body will react negatively, even when there is little food to be found.  He tells of the difficulty of his experience with stigma, the devastation of being cast aside by family, friends and church, and the widespread misconceptions of the illness.  But the undeniable truth of the situation: “we have watched our friends die.”

A long journey has led to a profound clarity for this elderly man: that people need to share about their experiences with AIDS, to tell others how to care for themselves, because no one else will.  Daniel expresses the need and his desire to start support groups for people with HIV, so they can honestly share their knowledge about how to take care of themselves with one another.

In other areas of his life, it is clear that

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A Deep Wound (SA)

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Marcus, a young man of 17, grew up in circumstances that left him wondering if life was worth living. He nearly ended his life once but was rescued just in time. He has deep wounds and carries much sorrow, hatred and anger. Nobody knows what happened to his parents, nor does he speak of them; he spends most of his time alone and struggles to enjoy the company of his peers at school.

Marcus experiences constant mistreatment living with his relatives. They take advantage of him, knowing he has no one else to turn to. He has no certificate or form of identification. Many times they don’t give him food or care for him properly. Marcus feels angry, hurt and isolated.

A schoolteacher was the first to take notice of the reality of his situation when Marcus became a danger to himself. He was hurting inside. The teacher being friends with some of the trained care workers who were involved in the Care Center supported by Hands at Work quickly sort out help for Marcus.

Since February 2009, Marcus has received emotional counseling and food at the care center. Although he is still a long way from being healed, he is slowly recovering and finding meaning in this life. One can only hope that the sorrow and anger deep within him will one day be replaced with peace and enable him to live a full life.

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Kikula (DRC)

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The community of Kikula is located on the outskirts of the city of Likasi in the DRC. It is one of the poorest communities in the city and is composed of makeshift shantytowns and brick huts.

The streets in any part of Kikula are lined with mothers and babies, storefronts, buckets of maize and bundles of charcoal for sale. There are countless children wandering around; as far as the eye can see. The roads of the community are damaged beyond belief and only the bravest of drivers venture out into the sometimes impassable terrain.

Kashama sits on a rock in front of his house. He has a sandal with a broken strap in his hands and he appears to be mending the dusty and worn leather. Beside him is a pile of footwear that tells a similar story of misfortune. This is Kashama’s “business” and his source of income. As Kashama stands up to greet the care workers, the limp in his step and deformity in his appearance becomes apparent. He moves slowly and with care as he greets

Agricultural Training in Zambia

On the 17th and 18th of June, an agriculture training was held at Kachele farm in Zambia. Representatives from the community based organizations participated.

This training was coordinated By Samuel Zulu, Etienne Beaud and Chilufya Chama. The training started with sharing of the word by Etienne from Genesis, as the basis and foundation of farming in a sustainable manner. He spoke about restoring the broken relationship between God and man, man to man and man and his environment. This served as a platform for Samuel and Chilufya to build on. After he was done, Chilufya taught on nurseries and vegetable production; how to grow them and management using the principles of low cost, sustainable agriculture.  With the high cost of seedlings, giving the attendees the skill to develop them, opened new possibilities in agriculture. Samuel taught on maize production addressing issues like soil erosion, fertility, cost effectiveness and labor savings. On this same day Etienne taught about the benefits