An Advocate Story - Sara Waldvogel

Sara Waldvogel joined Hands at Work as a short term volunteer in September 2011. She now works as part of the Hands at Work US International Office, raising up and supporting advocates who partner with vulnerable communities in Africa.

I had the privilege of coming to South Africa, along with 11 others from around the globe in September 2011.  We spent our first five weeks walking together in South African communities and learning from other Hands at Work long term volunteers.  Following orientation, I was fortunate to go to Kitwe, in Zambia to work with and learn from local Hands at Work leaders like Blessings Sambo and Towela Lungu.

During my time in Africa, I met children who broke my heart.  I became friends with Care Workers who were giving all they had and wished they could give more.  I lived with Hands at Work local leaders in Zambia who took me into their homes as family.  I stayed with a fourteen-year-old girl who gave me her own plate of food which was almost all she had left.  I walked through communities alongside servant-hearted leaders in whom I saw an exhibition of the love of Christ to a degree I hadn’t known was possible.  I was inspired to love in the same way.

By mid-December, I was back home in New York.  There was no denying that I had changed, but I wondered what was next.  I had returned to a culture that seems to prioritize self-advancement with little time to devote to the poor.  Except that there is need in every part of the world.  I realized that it takes a lot of effort to live a life of service to the poor in a place where it is easy to ignore that there is need.  Many people in New York feel that the poor just aren’t trying hard enough to survive and thrive.  Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus devoting His life to people who others said didn’t deserve help.  Walking with Care Workers in Africa opened my eyes to the truth that we are all called to do the same.

While I had a new passion for the poor and vulnerable in New York, I would never forget the children I met in South Africa and Zambia.  But knowing how to help them from so far away was difficult, but I knew I had to find a way. I decided to become an Advocate for Hands at Work.  An advocate is someone who pleads on behalf of another. I felt like this was what I could do for the children I had met – speak up on their behalf.  I believe an advocate is someone who lives out what is written in Proverbs 31:8-9, which says, ‘Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.  Open your mouth, judge righteously; defend the rights of the poor and needy.’ 

I also wanted to encourage others to join me in advocating for Africa’s poorest children by finding sponsors for a specific community and beginning a long term partnership of support, prayers and funding for that community.  

In truth, I find it difficult to ask people to give money to my cause.  Even though there are children in Zambia who I would say are ‘my children’, it is very hard for me to ask people to sponsor them.  Some people have a gift for fundraising; I feel like I don’t!  I have asked myself the question, ‘so how do I advocate for these children if I don’t directly ask people for money?’ 

Hands at Work has a saying, "We are before we do".  Over the last two years, many people have asked me why I do what I do, or they ask me about Africa, or they ask me why I waste time on people from whom I may never see the fruit of my investment.  I see these as great opportunities to talk about Hands at Work and our vision.  People see how much I love Hands, and in turn, they want to be a part of it. 

Being an advocate is not always easy.  I often want to get results quickly and it doesn’t always happen.  I want to be supporting multiple communities, and it’s not happening just yet.  People in cities like New York have plenty of money to give to needy children in Africa, but God doesn’t want them to give money because they can; He wants them to give money because they are filled with His love and can’t help but give to the poor.  Isaiah 58:10 says that ‘if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.’ 

God wants us to pour ourselves out for the hungry and the afflicted. I can testify to the truth that is found in this verse.  God has changed my life and I’ve never been happier.  As an advocate, I feel that my main role is to live this out in front of people in New York and pray that God uses that to further His kingdom.  If it results in sponsorship money for Hands at Work, I’m thrilled, but more than that, I pray that it results in people around me wanting to pour themselves out for the poor, whether it’s in Africa or New York.

It takes a village

Catherine Clarkson is a long-term volunteer with Hands at Work in Africa. In 2010 she chose to leave her comfortable life in the UK to come and serve and live with the Hands at Work community near White River, South Africa. After three years she continues to learn about what it is means to live a life of servanthood. This is her reflection.

There is an old African saying: ‘It takes a village to raise a child’. I can report the truth of this, at least in my limited experience. Our communities across Africa are over-burdened and overwhelmed by the sheer number of orphaned children and of their deep needs. I have come to realise that the answer for the most vulnerable children is not a sponsorship scheme or even the resources from external sources, but a locally-owned, locally-planned and locally-executed approach. Africa’s future lies with its people. For them to stand up and be counted, to raise their voices above the chaos and to make a difference will ensure the sustainability of this beautiful continent. Of course, I passionately believe that others are called to join in this story and to give a ‘helping hand’ to lift up our brothers and sisters, that is why I am here, doing this work, …and, of course, there are many organisations that exist to provide direct funding and services to children, doing a much needed work – but I no longer believe that this is the only answer.

I’d like to share with you a story that challenged me deeply. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a group of local men (Care Workers) were showing our Hands at Work Coordinator, Erick, around their community and they came across a boy who was dying. Severely malnourished and suffering from acute malaria, the boy had perhaps hours left to live. Erick struggled hugely to see a precious child suffering in this way, and enquired about what could be done to save him. The local Care Workers looked at each other and drew a blank – they saw the situation, felt compassion, but had no idea of how to respond. As poor men themselves, they had no resources to get the child to a clinic and no medical experience either. Erick desperately wanted to do everything he could to immediately save the boy, but, for the sake of the future of the community and the boy’s future too, he chose not to. He spoke directly and strongly to the Care Workers: ‘If you don’t come up with a solution, this boy, your child, will die.’ Then he bit his lip, said a silent, desperate prayer and left.

When I first heard this story, I felt a whole mix of emotions: sadness about the situation that is more common than I wish it was, fear, frustration.

Faced with the imminent reality of losing a child, the Care Workers came together and formed a plan to get the child to the clinic. It involved a wheelbarrow, the physical strength of them all to push in relay and the combined resources of many people. The boy lived.

Reading this story over and over, I realised that beyond the obvious truth that the Care Workers needed to take ownership for the situation themselves, there was another truth. The scale of suffering in Africa is extraordinary. Every single day 6000 children lose their parents to HIV/AIDS—that’s 180,000 per month. Brutal abuse, rape, torture, kidnapping, child soldiers and poverty are all around and it’s tough to even comprehend that there might be a solution. The truth is that it makes me fearful to even hope that there might be an end to the suffering. But one thing is for sure: the answer, deep down, and long-term, does not stand with me or with any single organisation. The response and the hope for tomorrow lies with the people of Africa. We, as Hands at Work, are called to play a privileged role today in lifting the arms of our brothers and sisters. We can teach, build, capacitate, encourage, strengthen, guide, equip, challenge, correct, suggest and support the work that God has called us to today. But the answer still lies much more locally than I will ever have the privilege of living. It takes a village – in all its richness, complexity and diversity – to raise a child, not only capable of living tomorrow, but of thriving and of giving back to the next generation.

Our Hands at Work community has a saying of our own: ‘we are’ before ‘we do’. We hold on to the truth that it is not, first and foremost, about what we have to offer and what skills we bring, but it is about who we are, as Christ-filled, compassionate, humble and meek people, that really makes a difference. I will say it again just how honoured I am to be a part of Hands at Work and to be learning more about who I am and what my place is in the world today. 

Read more on Catherine’s blog: www.catherineclarkson.com.

The Serve and Learn Team: Part 2

Kristal Hoff is an advocate and volunteer in Canada with Hands at Work in Africa. She and her husband, Will, recently took a team of ten individuals from around the world to visit vulnerable villages in South Africa, Zambia and Malawi. Kristal reflects on her experience with the Serve and Learn Team  in their final weeks.

After 2 months of traveling around as a family of 10 we have come to the end! We are surprised and truly thankful that we all came back in one piece and are still loving each other. What an amazing journey!

We wrote last about our time in South Africa. Since then we have traveled through Zambia, starting with a few relaxing days in Livingstone and staying the remainder of our time at Kachele Farm, home of the Zambian Regional Support Team. We visited communities called Mulenga, Mwaiseni, and Maranatha. From there we bussed to Malawi. We stayed at the local Hands at Work office in Dedza, Malawi and visited communities called Mngwere, Mcheneka, Maonde and Chinku, with even a trip to Lake Malawi. We really had the sense of going deeper and deeper into Africa.

While in Zambia we had the opportunity to spend time with and be challenged by amazing leaders that are truly anointed by God. James (one of Hands at Work’s regional coordinators in Zambia) shared with us the Christ he knows. He started by asking us if we were Christians. We all said, “yes”, but he continued, “Are you sure?” Lisa looked at me, with tear-filled eyes, and said, “I feel like I'm with Jesus.” Erick, Hands at Work’s coordinator for the work in Democratic Republic of Congo shared his heart for the vulnerable in his country and especially for Goma, a war-torn area that is so hostile. We were moved to commit an entire day to fasting and praying for breakthrough.

Mulenga was a community many of us fell in love with. We were deeply impacted by the dedication of the care workers in building relationships with their children. One man in particular, Reuben, challenged many of us in the way we serve. I visited a home of a young girl named Joy. She is 5 years old but could easily be mistaken for 2. Her hair is reddish and quite thin. Her mother abandoned her a few years ago and the woman who was currently looking after her also ran out on her. She was left with a 17-year-old girl and 4 other children under the age of 7. This was the first time in all of my time in Africa that I felt deeply that I needed to take her home. I wept the entire visit. We then walked to the care point where Joy was to get her meal. She sat on my lap as she spooned the rice into her mouth. All of a sudden I heard her scream, “Pastor!” I looked up and saw Reuben running toward her, arms in the air with excitement. He gave her a big high-five and I could feel everything in her lighten. This for me was a real glimpse into the Kingdom of God. Reuben later told me that people in the community were calling Joy strange names, like Chameleon. He changed her name and said for the rest of her life she will find joy in the Lord. And she will, because not only does Reuben and many others unconditionally love her, but she knows she is loved. That's the most beautiful part.

This was our entire 2 months—seeing and experiencing true glimpses into the Kingdom of God. Men and women of God that have been raised up, anointed, and are serving their Lord completely selflessly by loving those that no one else does. There were many care workers like Reuben. It really challenged us and put the way that we selectively serve to shame.

While in Malawi, we had the privilege of staying 3 nights in the community of Mngwere with care workers. This allowed us to get real insight into their lives: how they live, who they live with, their daily challenges. We discovered how vulnerable even they are! They struggle daily for food, they grieve the loss of their own children and spouse, feel pressured by some of the easy, but negative, ways to earn money, and many other unique challenges.

Traveling from country to country, through borders, on busses was miraculously easy and smooth, but still had its challenges. Entering a new country means a new language, a new currency, new songs and names, new culture and customs. We were always thinking, always converting, always fully aware of our surroundings and our actions.

We were really surprised as to how fast our team caught the heart of Hands and how keen they were in every situation to serve the Hands family and care workers. What we were mostly surprised and impressed with was also the responsibility they took in doing these things. They didn't travel around with the intention of having great experiences and writing down great stories, but rather to give themselves completely in everything they did, and most especially in encouragement. It was amazing to see someone sitting down with a care worker or a Hands bookkeeper, sharing scripture and encouragement and praying together.

Our hope in this unique trip was not for people necessarily to fall in love with Africa or understand poverty better or think that Hands is the best organization working in Africa, but for people to fall deeper and deeper in love with Jesus and live that out fully. To be removed from the pressures of their culture and lives to really experience the heart of God lived out by some of the most unexpected people, diamonds in the dust. And these 8 individuals did. They won't be the same, I can attest to it. I've seen them wrestle and struggle and question and look deep into their own hearts and lives as they sat in the homes of vulnerable and broken children, while they walked alongside beautiful, dusty feet, and while they listened to stories of grannies praying to live longer to care for their grandchildren.

The Serve and Learn Team is a unique opportunity. It is a short time commitment, but individuals get deep into Hands at Work: into our heart and family and deep into our communities across Africa. It's about learning in action, learning as you're serving, and recognizing that some of God's most anointed and chosen people sit in shacks on nameless streets.

Support us through music

Our old friend David Barbosa is visiting from Australia at the moment, while here he reunited with his old band for a one-off show. Here is a link to his Facebook page, have a look and a listen. You can also find his music on the iTunes store, his album is called The Beauty Of Grace. Proceeds of this album are being generously donated to Hands at Work. A huge thankyou to David from all the Hands family!

Download David Barbosa's album on iTunes
Proceeds go to Hands at Work in Africa

David Barbosa Music on Facebook

Also Kimberly Lee from Canada is supporting Hands at Work with a song from her new album, the song is called Breath Life Again. All proceeds from downloads of this song from now until August 10, 2013 will be donated to Hands at Work Africa. Here's an iTunes link to her latest album called Love That Remains and a link to her website.

Download Breath Life Again on Kimberly Lee's album on iTunes
Proceeds go to Hands at Work in Africa 

Kimberly Lee's Blog

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I want to help children, just like Thulane

Fortunate Kunene serves with Hands at Work in Africa as the Clau Clau Service Centre Coordinator, working to build capacity, provide support and encouragement to five Community Based Organisations in the area. Here she reflects on a boy she met in one of those communities and considers her own childhood.

Thulane is a nine year old boy. He lives with his mother and two young sisters: Thobile, who is seven and Nelsiwe who is five. He also has a baby brother, Sanele who is just nine months old.  The family originally came from Mozambique, fleeing to South Africa in the hope of a brighter future. Unfortunately, this has meant that they don’t have any birth certificates or identification documents that would enable them to receive assistance from the South African government.  They stay in a one-roomed shack made of corrugated metal. The children have only a cold floor to sleep on, and no blanket.

Thulane’s mother leaves for work at 5am each morning and doesn’t return until after dark each evening. Thulane, being the oldest, is therefore required to look after the home and to care for his siblings.  He has a long walk down a very steep hill to fetch water. He cleans the house and washes nappies for his baby brother. Thulane doesn’t have any time to play and do things most nine-year- old children do. It is nearly an hour for Thulane to walk to the Mandlesive Care Point, but he makes this journey every day because he has made friends there and has relationships with the Care Workers. Perhaps this Care Point is the only place in the world where this little boy feels able to be ‘just a child’. Thulane’s Care Worker, Nomsa, visits him regularly in his home to help him with the household chores. She helps him clean, do the washing and get water. Thulane says he wants to be a teacher when he grows up.

As a Service Centre Coordinator, Thulane touched me so much because his childhood reminds me of my own.  When I was seven years old I had to look after my little brother. My mother would leave us for work at 4am and not get back until late in the evening. We didn’t have food while my mum was away at work, so I think that if there was a Care Point offered to us, we would have attended there every day to get food.  It would have been good for me to have a Care Worker like Nomsa to support me since I was acting as a mother myself. At the Care Point, children get to forget their problems.  For a time, they can play with their friends and act like other children.

I want to help children just like Thulane as I understand what it is like to have so much responsibility at such a young age. It is these children that I believe I have been called to. In my work in the Service Centre, I believe that many children, just like Thulane can be given hope, even though they face  many challenges.

Seeing brokenness and feeling compassion:

A story from Elekuru, Nigeria

*children’s names have been changed

Under the cover of darkness, a desperate mother travelled to a remote village in Elekuru, Nigeria and abandoned her baby. He was just 15 days old. The baby was left in the care of his grandmother, who was already doing all she could to care for 5 other aban­doned children. Ironically, the baby was named Dayo*, which means ‘joy arrives’. That was 3 years ago. Dayo’s mother has not been seen since that night in 2010.

The village of Lasidi, where Dayo’s grandmother lives and cares for her children, is remote and cut off from any modern services. The children do not attend school and the people fight for survival each day. There is no clean water source, food is grown solely off the land and there is much sickness. It is just this kind of place that Elekuru Care Workers were drawn to. They wanted to be a light into the lives of desperate people like Dayo’s family.

Loving Care Workers like Abigail started to visit the village of Lasidi and found the children and grandmother in a desperate situation. She felt compassion for them. She wanted to help relieve some of the burden that Dayo’s aging grand­mother was shouldering alone. Abigail began to visit the family regularly, caring for their physical needs as best she could, and trying to understand their inner brokenness.

The family felt as if they had been adopted in to the Elekuru family, together with Abigail and all the Care Workers. Dayo and his brother Lenu* were identified as vulnerable children and the Elekuru Community Based Organisation took special care of them, ensuring them a hot, nutritious meal each day, access to education at the local Community School and basic health care. Each morning, the brothers wake excited, bathe themselves, and get ready to go to their new school. Abigail continues to visit this family, loving and caring for the children as if they were her own. The community’s prayer is for Dayo’s deep wounds of rejection to heal with time because of the love and attention he is now receiving. 

Communities like Elekuru in Nigeria continue to be very tough places to work. Care Workers sacrificially give of their time and energy to reach the most vulnerable children and bring comfort in their desperate situations. Please join us in praying for Care Workers like Abigail who do this every day. Pray for their courage and perseverance as they strive to live out the message of Christ in bringing hope to the hopeless. 

Healing the inner wounds of the most vulnerable children

Siyathuthuka, South Africa

One day Wandile was playing out­side in his community of Mafwam­bisa when he cut his foot badly on a broken bottle. His mother, Siphiwe has serious health issues and was not able to leave the house and take him to a clinic. She found some glue and tried to glue Wandile’s wound shut. For Wandile, 7, his sister Lungile, 12, and their brother Philane, 2, this story is one of many where they were in need of an adult who could properly care for them.

In South Africa, Hands at Work supports Community Based Organisations (CBO’s) such as Siyathuthuka CBO in Mafwambisa. Here, members of the local churches are volunteering to care for the most vulnerable children. Telma is one of these Care Workers. She has been visiting Wandile’s family since 2008 when their father died. Telma visits the family at home to ensure Siphiwe has taken her treatment. Lungile fears that without Telma, their mother may die also.

The children used to stay at home alone, trying to help their mother. Now, they are able to attend the Care Point at Siyathuthuka CBO. It was here that a Care Worker noticed Wandile’s infected foot and began cleaning the wound each day with salt water until it healed fully. The Care Point is also where the children can receive help with their homework each day. Lungile is in grade 7 and Wandile is in grade 2. Lungile says her favourite subject is English and she loves to practise speaking it. She also says one of her favourite memories is the day Thandy, a Care Worker, taught the girls traditional dancing at the Care Point.

 Each week, Hands at Work trainers visit Siyathuthuka to equip the local Care Workers. These local Care Workers are not only healing the physical wounds like Wandile’s foot, they are healing the inner wounds of the most vulnerable children. Wandile, Lungile and Philane were in danger of growing up with serious scars – both physical and emotional, but now they are able to be children and have peace knowing that they are surrounded by many mothers who love them.

Archange’s Story: Kitabataba, DR Congo

My name is Archange and I live in Kitabataba in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  By the time I was five years old both of my parents had died.  I was sent to live in many homes but no one wanted to take care of me.  Everyone where I live is very poor and they do not have the money to feed another mouth.  Eventually my grandparents said I could live with them.  I was grateful they took me in but I was also really angry because for so many years no one wanted me.  I was always just a burden, not someone’s son.  Maybe my grandparents really loved me, but by this point I was so angry with everyone that I misbehaved a lot.  They said I was very rebellious.

One day some adults came to my grandparents’ house.  They were going through our community looking for children who needed help and they found me.  When they heard that I was a naughty boy who had no parents they said they would take care of me.  I would still live with my grandparents but they would come and visit me.  And they do.  They are Care Workers from Nyota Care Point, but to me they are my new mothers and fathers.  When they visit we talk – we have talked about my behaviour and how I can grow up to be a nicer boy.  They talk to me about God and how he loves me.  I have been going to church and am on my church choir team.

Now I also get to eat with other children at the Care Point.  We play together and I like getting to meet and know new friends.  You would probably say I am a happy boy now, I smile a lot more.  In this picture I am wearing my new school uniform!  I am in grade 6 at Kitabataba Community School and I love school.  I wish my parents were still alive but I thank God I have my grandparents and my new mothers and fathers.  They really love me. 

Without Condition

Ashley Humphreys, is a volunteer from Canada and has been serving with Hands at Work in South Africa and Zambia since May 2012. She reflects on her time in Africa and a recent encounter with a special Care Worker, Jean.

When I came to volunteer in Africa, I said I was coming to give.  Give my time, my passion, my resources.  Soon after arriving, I realized I wasn’t very good at giving at all.  I came into living in a community of people from all over the world and learned that at Hands at Work, we live as a family.  We live by the core values of servanthood and giving freely.  Freely.  Not conditionally.  It didn’t take me long to realize I lived by giving conditionally.  Maybe it’s because I grew up in a first world country.  Maybe it’s because deep in my heart there is a selfish girl who doesn’t want to share, who wants things to be about her sometimes, who wants people to recognize when she does something well.  I saw this ugly side of myself in little things.  Someone would ask to borrow my milk and I’d say yes but I’d think, “Now I’m going to run out and I can’t get to the grocery store for a week! They should really be more organized.”  I hated myself for thinking that way.  Why couldn’t I just let it go? Why couldn’t I give and be happy my family member knew I was someone they could ask?  Why didn’t it feel like a privilege to give to my brothers and sisters?  I started praying God would help me give freely – give without condition, give to glorify Him, give because His word says “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor 9: 7)

“When I came to volunteer in Africa, I said I was coming to give. Give my time, my passion, my resources. Soon after arriving, I realized I wasn’t very good at giving at all. I came into living in a community of people from all over the world and learned that at Hands at Work...we live by the core values of servanthood and giving freely. Freely—not conditionally.”

— Ashley Humphreys, volunteer from Calgary, Canada

In Zambia I met Jean, a Care Worker at Chibuli Community Based Organization.  I was honoured to walk with her through the community and go on home visits with her.  The children we visited would cuddle up to her as we sat outside.  She would wrap her arms around them, all of them children who have been orphaned and are living with aging grandparents.  We walked so far through the tall grass and huts of Chibuli to get to four homes, something Jean is used to doing every week.  On the long walk back to the Care Centre after our visits, Jean started talking to me about how to be a Care Worker, it was like she was training me for my future as one.She said, “It was hard at first, giving to the children.  When I started it was really hard.  But, it gets easier!  I’ve been a Care Worker for 3 years.  I just kept doing it and it got easier.  Now there are children in my home all the time.  I have my 3 children, but I have many more.  I tell all the children to come to my house and I will bathe them.  And feed them.  I say ‘bring your clothes!’  So they come, they bring their clothes, I wash their clothes and I wash their bodies and I give them food.”  She said it with joy and with love. 

God spoke right through Jean to me: Giving gets easier. I can give with my heart like Jean does.  Not today, but maybe one day.  It’s a strange thing, to think of practising giving. But it’s exactly what we can do as we seek out God and grow in our understanding of who Jesus truly is.  As I have tried to answer God’s call to care for and love others, He has shown me how to give without condition.  After a year of volunteering in Africa and praying about giving, it is a little bit easier.  I still have lots of moments where I see my hard heart, but I have more where I feel the love of God come through me.  We all have walls around our hearts, and ideas in our heads that make us second guess giving freely.  We have to keep fighting through.  Keep praying and asking God to radically transform us so we build His Kingdom in everything we do.

The loving care of Sekani has inspired a radical change in Maonde Community

No one knows how old Sekani is, but many guess he is around 30.  It seems for decades he has spent his days sitting alone on the road outside his home in the community of Maonde, Malawi.  His mother is a poor farmer who became an alcoholic – a desperate attempt to cope with the stress of her poverty.  This resulted in Sekani being born severely disabled. He can hardly speak, and he cannot walk.  This tragedy is made even worse through the rejection he has felt: most days receiving no food, never having gone to school, and never having known a father or mother who lovingly supported him.

In 2011 Royie Nazombe, head of the Hands at Work Service Centre in Malawi, began mobilising the local church in Maonde and training volunteers from those local churches to be Care Workers, looking out for the most vulnerable people in their community. These churches and volunteers founded the Chisomo Community Based Organisation (CBO) in Maonde. Most people in Maonde have always passed by Sekani without a second glance. But Mlangani, one of the local volunteer Care Workers, took notice of him. Mlangani says, “He needed a new standard of life.  I couldn’t just watch people walk by him anymore”.  Mlangani stepped in to love and care for Sekani not only as a Care Worker, but as a friend, bringing food and clothes, and bathing Sekani daily.  The most radical change has been the involvement of the community in Sekani’s life. Mlangani’s relationship with Sekani has inspired the people of Maonde and has encouraged many to bring light into Sekani’s situation. Sekani had always lived in a tiny shack (see photo at left) with his mother, in which they would have to huddle at night just to sleep. A group of young Care Workers finally realised that this was an unacceptable situation. These young people, themselves very poor, pooled whatever they had and helped to construct a decent two-roomed house for Sekani and his mother (see photo at right).

No longer is Sekani forgotten and passed by with indifference.  Mlangani and many other Care Workers are bringing a change that gives hope for the future of Malawi. This is the church in action! The Dedza Service Centre has a team of volunteers working to support Chisomo and other CBO’s with the vision of bringing transformation to the vulnerable across the entire country.  And as this team looks to care for a nation, each day Mlangani will visit Sekani, ensuring one by one the vulnerable are loved and cared for.

* name has been changed

Thabo says he can cope, knowing it is never too long until Sara will visit

Thabo did not go to school until he was 11 years old.  For years, he spent his days wandering around the community of Oshoek.  No one cared if Thabo or his brother Mpho went to school, or took a bath, or had any food.  Thabo was trapped in the small, one-room stick and mud house he was born in with an abusive mother and a father who is mentally impaired, often out wandering through the woods. Thabo lived with four people, sleeping on the cold, wet floor every night, often experiencing neglect, but God intervened.

God called Sara to find Thabo.  Sara is a local Care Worker who is part of a group of volunteers from local churches who care for the most vulnerable children.  While doing home visits through Bambanani Community Based Organisation in 2011, Sara noticed Thabo sitting alone and wondered why a boy his age was not at school in the middle of the day.  As she talked to him she heard the story of a child who had never seen the inside of a classroom, never knew when his next meal would be, and was in desperate need of an adult in his life who would love and care for him.  Sara took Thabo into her heart and her life.  She talked to Thabo’s mother who agreed to let him and Mpho enrol in school. 

Today, Thabo is 12 and in Grade Four.  Sara is his second mother who visits him at home and cares for him.  She ensures he takes a bath and goes to school.  Though he still faces the challenge of living in the midst of an unstable family, he says he can cope, knowing it is never too long until Sara will visit.  He loves school and says one day he wants to work for, as he calls it, the “Fire Emergency Fighting Company”!  This young boy, who once felt abandoned, is now living a story of restoration and gradually healing from his trauma.

* name has been changed

The Ndlovu Family

In this one roomed home lives the Ndlovu family.  Handzu is 19, in Grade 11 and has a 2 year old child.  Thabiso (pictured) is 17 and in Grade 11.  Sam (also pictured) is 13.  They live here with their mother, Christina, who has been head of the family since the death of her husband, and the children’s father, in 2000.  Christina has an illness that affects the use of her legs and she can no longer work, forcing the family to try and survive on one government grant of approximately 35 USD per month.  They are also forced to walk long distances to get water due to the water shortage crisis in the community of Welverdiend, South Africa.  When Pfunani Community Based Organization (CBO) identified this family as one of the most vulnerable in 2011, the children were hardly sleeping or eating. 

Over the past year, Angel has become a part of the Ndlovu family.  She is a Care Worker from Pfunani CBO who volunteers to love and care for the most vulnerable children in Welverdiend.  Since Angel began providing home visits to this family of five, there has been a change in the children.  By ensuring the children are receiving the 3 Essential Services of food security, basic education, and basic health care, she has seen them go from being tired, hungry and anxious children, to a healthier family who wants to build a relationship with her.  They share their challenges with Angel and she, supported by Pfunani CBO, does whatever she can to help.  Most importantly, she is a mother to the children when their own mother is unwell, and a friend to Christina who knows there is someone looking out for her children.

A Community Caring

Solofina, age 14, is a single orphan in Grade 4 at Malokota Community School.  She stays with her father in Malokota, Zambia

Ten years ago, in this small bush community, her family's life was forever changed.  At the age of four, Solofina and her three siblings lost their mother.  At that time, the children were unable to go to school as their father was not able to pay for their education.  The close-knit community of Malokota saw a need and took it upon themselves to adopt the whole family. 

Malokota Community Based Organization (CBO) is helping Solofina attend school by paying for her school fees, books, and uniform.  She also receives a nutritious meal each day at the feeding point.  At school, Solofina loves to draw and play netball with her friends. She especially enjoys English class.  According to her teacher, Japhet, Solofina is a good student and has many friends.  When Solofina grows up, she would like to be a doctor so that she may help those who are sick.

Solofina would like to give thanks to those who are supporting her, enabling her to get an education, and nourishing her not only physically and mentally, but also emotionally and spiritually. 

There is Hope

In the community of Share, South Africa, Ruth has been visiting Mike, Tholiwe and Risuna since 2010 when their mother became very sick.  Ruth is a Care Worker at Nhluvuko Community Based Organization (CBO) and has been caring for these extremely vulnerable children for over 2 years now.  In 2011, their mother passed away.  Mike, 15, Tholiwe, 10, and Risuna, 4, did not know their father.  Without Ruth, they would have been left with only their grandmother, who does not live with them and does not care for them. 

But there is hope.  Although they live alone now, the home visits provided by Ruth have given these children a mother who knows each of their names and their situations.  Ruth ensures all three children are going to school each day.  As the head of his household, she has taught Mike to care for and clean the home. 

Through the 3 Essential Services program, Ruth and Nhluvuko CBO have provided this family with a hot meal afterschool each day, school uniforms, a door and window frame for their home, and a mattress.  Ruth has built a very strong relationship with these children and they love and trust her as their mother.

40 Days of Prayer 2013

Prayer for Africa’s Orphaned
Play your part to bring hope

February 20th to Sunday March 31st

Join our worldwide community as we pray together for 40 days and 40 prayer points.  As the international Hands at Work family, we will pray for the vulnerable children of Africa and ask God to reveal His heart for the poorest of the poor. Through each prayer point, we will ask God to remind us of not only the external challenges our children face, but the inner wounds that they live with every day.  As we ask Him to heal their wounds, we pray He will break our hearts. We know that as we seek God in serving the most vulnerable, we will be blessed with a fresh understanding of His heart. 

Download the 40 Days 2013 Prayer Guide and join our 40 Days 2013 online event
 
Join us and unite in global prayer to be a voice for the voiceless.
 

Meet Rimos

Rimos is a young boy living a difficult life.  He is 13 years old and lives with 11 other people in a two room house in the community of Mulenga, Zambia.  In 2003, he was living in Lusaka when both of his parents died.  He had to move 3.5 hours away to Mulenga where he now lives with his grandparents, his 4 other siblings, and 5 nieces and nephews. 

The passing of both of his parents in the same year, and the turmoil of having to move to a new place right away, has left Rimos with very deep inner wounds.  His elderly grandparents are unable to understand how to support him emotionally, and he is therefore more often neglected than cared for.  Surrounded by a family of people fighting for themselves each day just to survive, Rimos became just one of many and began walking his community in search of food and money by himself. 

When Mulenga Community Based Organization (CBO) met Rimos, they could see right away that he was one of the most vulnerable children in Mulenga.  On the surface, Rimos’ clothes all have holes in them.  As they got to know Rimos, Mulenga CBO Care Workers saw the many inner wounds that cause him to live in a state of sadness.  Thankfully, Mulenga CBO Care Workers have received Walking with Wounded Children training.  This allows them to be in a better position to journey with a suffering child like Rimos and help him uncover and process his wounds.

Rimos’ Care Worker is Kennedy.  Kennedy is not only walking with Rimos emotionally, but he is ensuring Rimos is healthy and has an education.  Through the 3 Essential Services (3ES) program at Mulenga CBO, Rimos has access to basic health care, one nutritious meal a day, and free education.  Rimos is enrolled at Mulenga Community School where he is in Grade 2.  Through the grace of God, Rimos is no longer a lost boy wandering the streets of Mulenga.  He has a father, Kennedy, and a whole family at Mulenga CBO who visits him in his home, who love him, and who know his name.

George in Canada

Hands at Work in Africa founder George Snyman will be visiting Canada this month. Below, please find events in western Canada where George will be speaking, sharing the vision of Hands at Work as well as recent developments and stories from the ground level in Africa.  Here is where you can meet and hear George:

Saturday, January 19th, 2013

6:00 pm

Parksville Fellowship Baptist Church

550 Pym Street

Parksville, B.C.

Friday, January 25th, 2013

Vancouver Missions Fest

George is speaking at 1:30 pm in Room 13

Vancouver Convention Centre

1055 Canada Place

Vancouver, B.C.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

10:00 am

Bragg Creek Community Church at the Bragg Creek Community Centre

23 White Avenue

Bragg Creek, Alberta (approximately 30 kms west of Calgary)