The Story of Welverdiend Community
Welverdiend is an extremely vulnerable community located in north-eastern South Africa. The community faces many challenges including unproductive land, poor job opportunities and a lack of support for the vast number of Mozambican refugees, who came to South Africa in search of peace and safety during the Mozambique civil war. Due to a lack of Identification Documents, these refugees and their children are unable to receive any services from the government, resulting in an extremely high rate of unemployment.
100 Children currently supported
5 Care Workers coordinated by Phindile
Basic Services Started in 2009
110 KM from the HAZYVIEW Local Office
In 2007, Hands at Work was introduced to the community of Welverdiend and as Hands at Work leaders walked in the community, the vulnerability of the people living there was evident. Recognising the need to support the most vulnerable, Hands at Work began mobilising the local church and identifying key people within the community who had a passion for caring for children. One of the Care Workers mobilised was Thembi, who has been the Coordinator of Pfunani Community Based Organisation (CBO) since the beginning. While Thembi has two birth children, she considers the 100 children being cared for by the Pfunani CBO her own.
In addition to a hot, nutritious meal daily, the Care Workers are advocates for the children; helping to enrol them in school, referring them for treatment at the local clinic, and connecting them with Social Services in order to obtain grants and necessary documents from Home Affairs. With the support of Hands at Work, the Pfunani CBO is able to help ensure safe and secure housing for the most vulnerable children, as well as school uniforms and supplies on an as-needed basis.
At the beginning of 2016, a shelter was built and benches were installed at the Care Point, giving the children a safe place to sit out of the sun. There are a number of children attending the under-fives programme at the Care Point. Care Workers have supplies like nappies, Vaseline and wet wipes to ensure that the children are receiving the physical care they need, along with toys and books to encourage them to play and learn.
When an international team from Australia visited, they helped clean and paint the exterior of the building at the Care Point. The Care Workers had been desiring to do this for a number of years, and they were very excited! They took ownership of the project and together with the team, youth leaders and children, they enjoyed painting beautiful colours and shapes on the walls.
In 2022, Tembi left the Pfunani CBO to join the local Hands at Work team in Hazyview, alongside Angel, another former Care Worker. In response, dedicated Care Workers Phindile and Sharon has taken ownership of the day-to-day responsibilities of running the Pfunani CBO as coordinators.
The local Hands at Work team in Hazyview currently supports four Community Based Organisations, which exist to care for the most vulnerable in their communities. The office provides training, networking, and encouragement to those Community Based Organisations like Pfunani. It also gives administrative support, including helping with funding proposals, monitoring and evaluation, bookkeeping and reporting to donors.
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Recently, 17-year-old Peter* (pictured in white) was invited to a youth camp at the Hands at Work base in South Africa, facilitated by the local Hazyview Hands at Work team, where he made a choice to follow Jesus and was baptised! His Care Worker, Selina, is hopeful and confident that Peter will continue to grow into a strong man of God.
– Welverdiend Community, South Africa
Four-year-old Celestina* lives in a three-roomed house with her four siblings, their mother and three cousins. Though the exact illness is unknown, their mother is very sick and unable to provide for the children, often unable to move and spending her days at home confined to her mattress. Celestina's older siblings leave for school in the morning while she remains at home with her ill mother and three younger cousins, who are not around. Care Worker Selina from the Pfunani CBO has taken responsibility for Celestina and her cousins, visiting their home early each morning and checking in on their mother before bringing them to the Care Point. Here, they spend the day under the supervision of the Care Workers, playing with the other children and receiving a hot breakfast and lunch. Care Worker Selina shares, “I am doing this because I am a mother, and these children need to be protected and taken care of.”
Over the years, Care Worker Pinky has developed a close relationship with Betty*, one of the Primary Caregivers in Welverdiend Community, South Africa. Betty is caring for three children, two of whom were previously orphaned and had nowhere to go. All of her children come to the Care Point.
Betty knows that she can count on Pinky and the other Care Workers to support her in the challenges that she faces, because she has experienced their unconditional support in the past. When her grandson passed away, the Care Workers surrounded a grieving Betty with love and Christ-like compassion.
Today, Betty and Pinky are committed to working together to care for the children, knowing that they can count on each other and both want the best for the children. Betty knows that she is not alone!
Thembi, coordinator of the Pfunani Community Based Organisation (CBO) in South Africa, teaches the children a Bible story.
Louise is a grandmother who truly exemplifies Jesus’ words in Mark 12:31 that say: “‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
When eight-year-old Naomi* and her seven-year-old sister, Miriam*, were abandoned by their mother, Louise brought them to live in her home for what was meant to be a short time. Sadly, their mother has not returned, but Louise has been lovingly caring for the girls ever since like they are her own grandchildren. Care Worker Thembi shares, “What Louise lacks in financial support for the girls, she more than makes up for with the deep love that she has for them.”
- Welverdiend Community, South Africa
“I became a Care Worker to help the children who are in need, after seeing them struggle. I enjoy seeing the transformation that happens in the children.” – Ester is a dedicated local volunteer Care Worker in Welverdiend Community, South Africa, committed to serving 150 of the most vulnerable children.
Pfunani Community, South Africa – When the Care Workers found 13-year-old Kayla* and her siblings, they realised that the children’s mother would frequently leave them alone, sometimes with no food. Seeing their vulnerability, the Care Workers invited Kayla and her siblings to the Life Centre, where they would be holistically cared for. Here, Kayla feels known and loved.
28-year-old Margret grew up coming to the Care Point in Welverdiend Community, South Africa, along with her sister. Today, Margret is no longer a child attending the Care Point but is the mother to two young boys who do. She has a heart to care for children and has created a welcoming space at her home, where children can come and play games, sing and dance together. Through a home visit, she was encouraged to consider becoming a Care Worker and invest into the lives of the community, just as she too was invested into.
18-year-old Lebo* has been attending the Care Point in Welverdiend since she was 10 years old. When her parents passed away, Lebu was left with the responsibility of raising her three siblings. Currently, she is in grade 12 at school. Lebo is a Christian and is committed to faithfully attending church every Sunday.
Lebo is one of the youth leaders at the Care Point, and takes on the responsibility of gathering all 150 children together to pray, sing and read scripture before they eat. When it is time to eat, she helps to serve the children, even going as far as carrying the younger children’s food to where they will sit. She is a bright light in the community of Welverdiend and is such a positive example for the other youth and younger children. She leads the youth group that takes place weekly at the Care Point and actively supports many of the children in their faith and walk with Christ.
Welverdiend Community, South Africa.
The Care Workers from the Pfunani Community Based Organisation first became aware of Ntsumi* when she was just a baby. Noticing that her mother was not around and that she lived with her grandmother, they drew nearer to the family and began to visit regularly. Listening with tenderness and deep Christ-led compassion, they heard that Ntsumi’s mother, broken by Ntsumi’s father’s lack of interest in her baby, had felt unable to look after her child. Community-minded, warm-hearted and caring, Ntsumi’s grandmother does her best to provide a supportive home. She knows that a stable environment for children means that they will have the chance of growing into strong, anchored adults and has also taken into her care another little girl, Puleng*. But she is realistic: she knows that both Puleng and Ntsumi need a mother-like figure in their lives. Too old to work, she is dependent on a small government grant and struggles to meet the children’s most basic needs.
Today, Ntsumi receives a hot, nutritious meal daily and support for her education together with basic healthcare. Being enfolded into the heart of so many loving adults has meant that Ntsumi can cope better with the pain of her mother’s rejection. The Care Workers, led by their love of Jesus, strive to understand the needs of each child in their care and, having been taken under their wing, Ntsumi, Puleng and the grandmother can confide in the Care Workers, knowing that they can explain their difficulties and receive deep understanding and help from willing hearts.
"My thoughts about Africa have completely changed. I was fearful of going at first because all I ever heard about Africa was the pain, suffering, violence and oppression. Since visiting, I have seen a different Africa. I have seen the colour, the joy in those who have very little, the African dance, the African countryside and a care model that is working.”
Eddie Skinner, Heart City Church Team (Australia) shares about his time visiting Hands at Work and the community of Welverdiend in South Africa.
“This photo is of Josefa* from Pfunani Community. We were doing an appreciation day for the Care Workers and because there was an additional workbook left over, I gave it to Josefa and asked him to write his name on the heart. The booklet was based on Ephesians 3:18 and when I explained that it said ‘God loves Josefa,’ he gave me a huge, beautiful smile.”
- Jenny Wood, Member of Hands at Work Australia
Audrey Sibiya (African Volunteer, #SouthAfrica) shares about what church mobilisation looks like at the Pfunani Community Based Organisation (CBO) in Welverdiend, South Africa:
"There are two pastors who are actively involved at the Pfunani Life Centre: Pastor Richard Masuku and Pastor Paul. Pastor Richard serves as one of our board members at the Pfunani CBO in Welverdiend. We have a strong relationship with these pastors and they are willing to support us whenever we need them." Please #pray for more pastors like Pastor Richard and Pastor Paul in each of our communities across Africa to stand up and recognise their biblical mandate to care for the most vulnerable. #ChristAsOurFoundation #LocalChurch
Pastor Paul is from Welverdiend Community in South Africa and is with the ‘International Christian Centre Church’. He shares: "As a church, we are doing our part to show love to children and those that have been orphaned. We are playing an important role in looking after them and helping them. Some of them don’t have parents and they don’t have that love that children are supposed to get from their parents. I have opened my hands. Every Sunday, I say to people that if they know anyone that is sick, I’m available. Please let me. I’ll go. I’ll visit and pray for them. We are in one community. If we just fold our hands, who is going to take the responsibility? As a church, we must do something - not just by talking, but by action. These kids from the Life Centre are our future generation. If the church doesn’t play it’s role, these kids are going to disappear, and lose their hope and confidence."
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"I was not really interested in work. I was not. I was sick a lot of the time," Pinky recalls. "But when they called (after the interview), they said they'd like to have me. I thought, 'Ooh, these people are so crazy, really now?'"
The Watchword brings a sense of unity, knowing that the verse being shared is being shared across Africa and around the world. We know that whilst we are here in South Africa, other people are sharing the same Watchword in other countries. There is power in being a part of something way bigger than just where we are.
Help us give the gift of hope this Christmas by sharing the Hands at Work Christmas cards with your friends and family.
Eventually, word spread throughout the community about Naomi and Miriam’s situation and so Care Workers from the Pfunani CBO visited them in their home. Hearing their story, they invited the girls to begin attending the Care Point.
Help us remind a weary world, it has reasons to rejoice this Christmas Season by sharing the Hands at Work Christmas cards with your friends and family.
We invite you to share the message of Christ’s hope as we rejoice in the birth of our Saviour - in the midst of our weary and broken world - with Hands at Work greeting cards.
When I was 12 years old, my parents separated and I remained living with my mother and younger brother. It was difficult being the firstborn because when my mum was sick I was responsible for caring for my younger brother, all whilst trying to attend school.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5
With four designs to choose from, our easy to follow instructions allow you to print at home or send designs to your favorite printer.
For the last three years, Carolyn Snyman has encouraged the ladies volunteering with Hands at Work to ask God for their own personal Watchword for the year; a scripture that will serve as an encouragement, challenge and promise for the year to come.