Providing the Essentials - Food Security
Across Africa, many of the most vulnerable children and their families are living without adequate access to food. With little means of provision, people are driven to incredibly dangerous practices in order to survive. In some situations, parents are forced to make the difficult decision to leave their children alone while they go out searching for means to secure their access to food, which only increases the vulnerability of their children. In other situations, young girls sell their bodies in desperation to feed themselves and their families.
Hands at Work is committed to increasing the food security of the most vulnerable children and their families through a variety of different ways. Daily, the most vulnerable children come to Care Points across Africa, where they receive a hot and nutritious meal cooked and served by local volunteer Care Workers. As children receive and then finish their meals, they learn how to properly and effectively wash their hands and dishes with soap and hot water.
Hands at Work encourages the Care Workers and Primary Caregivers to come together and build small-scale community garden projects in their community. The dream for these gardens is that they will be a source of food and income for Care Workers and Primary Caregivers who struggle to provide for their families. Local Hands at Work teams recognise the challenges that come with being a child-headed household. As a result, they are dedicated to teaching these children about gardening. In addition, food parcels are distributed on an as-needed basis to the most vulnerable families, who without these might not survive.
In Sakubva Community, Zimbabwe, the youth worked with the Care Workers and a local pastor to build a garden, learning skills that would build resiliency in them for the future.
Children washing their dishes after receiving their daily meal in Nigeria
