St Andrew’s, Biggleswade, has been partnered with the community of Mafambisa since 2016, and as a church we aim to send a team regularly to support and walk alongside the brilliant Care Workers and children.
As well as spending several days with our partner community we were also privileged to be able to visit one or two other Care Points over the two weeks that we were in Africa.
This year’s team consisted of six adults and five young people. We visited Care Points in the Clau-Clau region, mainly Mafambisa but also Mluti, and then, during our second week, travelled north and visited Care Points in the Bushbuckridge region, staying at the Wits University Rural Facility.
We were struck, particularly this year, by the importance of teams and of maintaining a close relationship with the places that we have visited previously. At Mafambisa one of the Care Workers confided in Alice because she recognized the support that had been given to that community over the last few years, and the inter-relationship between the young people in the team and those in each of the Care Points that we visited also stood out.
In Mluti the use of a Bluetooth speaker in a worship session at the Care Point attracted the local school children who were on their way home. It turned into quite the community event!
In Pfunani a bond was built between our young people and two of the older teenagers from the community. Engaging together over the two days, the young people put on a dance show to honour the relationships that had been created.
In Seville B the group spent over an hour by the roadside in discussion with the local chief, who shared the challenges that he faced as leader of that community. He challenged the group to come up with solutions to many very difficult questions.
It was a team visit based upon both renewing relationships and building new ones. We came away realising the value and importance of team visits and, at the same time, humbled by the great people we had met, all combined with an increasing desire to serve the communities that Hands at Work supports!
Chris and Alice Parker and the Biggleswade Team
Hands at Work in Africa UK Gathering
It is always a pleasure and a privilege to gather as Hands at Work Advocates. This year our day was held at Hollywood Christian Life Centre near Birmingham and hosted by Peter and Deborah Steele. Thanks to them both for their hard work in catering for the day and arranging a time of shared worship. Also, to their pastor, Steve Crossthwaite, for opening the day in prayer.
The first session was led by Wedzerai Chiyoka, a familiar face to the Hands at Work UK women’s prayer group as she often joins them from her home in Uganda. She had been visiting the UK and delayed her return home to join the Gathering. This was so appreciated as she was able to pass on greetings from Hands at Work founders and leaders in Africa, George and Carolyn and Levi and Prag. She also provided an update on the Hands at Work news from Africa.
Catherine (Cat) Clarkson was our next speaker. Following thirteen years as an International Volunteer in Africa, Cat has recently taken a sabbatical back in the UK. She shared how Hands at Work has changed over the last thirteen years “in every possible way, although the model and prophetic call to the church has not”. She also talked very movingly about how her life has been changed by her time with Hands. She shared inspiring stories of children who had grown into becoming young African Hands at Work leaders. She talked about her future plans – sharing how God has called her back to her home city of Southampton, where she will be working with the vulnerable from a community base called, ironically, ‘The Hub’! She finished by reminding us of verses from Isaiah 58, including from verse 10: ‘Feed the hungry and help those in trouble’.
Our next session was spent listening to reports from those who were part of two visiting teams to communities in South Africa in 2024. The first was a party of ten ladies from one of the Woodlands Churches in Bristol, led by Hazel Askew. The second was a mixed group from St Andrew’s in Biggleswade, led by Chris Parker. One of this group, a young man called Adam, talked about the sense of ‘community and family’ he discovered in Africa and how he had felt a ‘touch from God’ for the very first time during the trip. Time was taken to pray for Helen and Sheila, both nurses, who were departing on a child health visit to Malawi two days after the Gathering.
After a light lunch, including delicious local samosas – apparently a ‘must’ when visiting the Midlands – we reconvened to listen to Becky Warnock from Suffolk and Lesley Bentley from the West Midlands. They shared what partnership meant to their churches, and the words ‘mutuality in ministry’ seemed to capture the relationship between UK churches and Africa. We then watched a video from Jackie Okindah, updating us on the recent gathering of Hands at Work African leaders in Zambia. She also shared a fresh perspective on how much team visits mean to the children and Care Workers in our communities. She reminded us that God is ‘El Roi’ – the God who sees – and whenever we visit Africa we are helping people to feel seen.
After a small group discussion around the previous session, we went into a question-and-answer session led by Dan Waspe, also visiting the UK from Africa, and Oliver Westmancott, chair of the Hands UK board. Amongst other topics they discussed the transition of Hands UK with the impending retirement of David and Jane Newsome. Time had been put aside to thank David and Jane for their amazing leadership, which included a touching video of thanks from Hands leaders worldwide – such has been their impact. They were presented with gifts and prayers of thanks said. It was good to hear from David and Jane that they will still be involved with Hands UK as they serve as Advocates for their home church. They also shared their plans to support refugees from their Midland’s base. Thanks were also given to Becci Leung and Oliver for their hard work navigating Hands UK through this time of transition.
George Green reflects on his sponsored walk to support the community of Malakota in Zambia
26th to 30th August
I did it!
In warm, sunny weather I started from beside the Kyle Rhea ferry and walked up the Elg Valley and over the steep, winding mountain pass to Ratagan Hostel on the shores of Loch Duich. Using the hostel's wifi, I began to search for a local weather forecast. The headline appeared: 'Scotland, 10 days’ rain to fall in 24 hours'. I was not greatly perturbed, having prepared well and armed with suitable clothing and equipment.
The following morning, Suzanne the warden tried to persuade me not to go on my intended route to the remote hostel at Alltbeith. I went to speak with the Kintail Ranger at Morvich Outdoor Centre and he also strongly advised that it was too dangerous, as there are a number of streams to be waded across the trail. He radioed the hostel to not expect me.
To go as planned, alone, would have been risky for me and would have possibly put others at risk. I returned to Ratagan. I did some jobs to help Suzanne and she found me a bunk for the night. I walked that day, along the shoreline of Loch Duich, but even here the extreme weather had caused landslides. I messaged my vehicle support team, asking them to transfer me to the highest point of Glen Affric – as close as possible to where my high-level Alltbeith section would have taken me. I wild-camped there. The rain fell heavily in the night. I stayed dry and warm but the tent was so heavy with water. I set off down Glen Affric.
The forest of Glen Affric is preserved and allowed to grow like the ancient Caledonian forest used to be before farming, loss of predators, large numbers of deer, grazing sheep and commercial exploitation reduced its biodiversity. The UK is so bio-depleted.
In this 'Celtic Rainforest' the sun appeared briefly. A young woman stopped to remove her waterproofs and revealed a T-shirt featuring a portrait of a highland cow – like my logo. I remarked on the horns being slightly wrong, and showed her my An Turas flyer. She thought for a while and said, "This is a sign. I was conceived in Zambia. I have a Zambian name; today is my birthday. Can I take this leaflet?" She said she would look up Malakota and Hands at Work.
Friday was my final and longest day's walk, along the beautiful, broad flat valley (strath) of the River Glass. I was accompanied and encouraged by Jane and Alan from the Hands at Work Partnership of Turning Point Church in Forres, near Inverness. Our conversations and views of this gentler landscape kept me going. When we reached the fish & chip shop in Beauly – the 'Friary' near the Priory – there was a small crowd of Hands at Work UK family. I went to the tidal estuary of the River Beauly but couldn't dip my feet in.
I thank all who have donated, my support team, members of the Hands at Work family who have advised and encouraged me, and any of you who have spoken to others about Malakota and the work of Hands at Work.
I am also so thankful for the great, free gift of God's wonderful, dangerous Creation, and for the luxury in the freedom, the privilege and the means I have to choose to explore and enjoy it. As I walked, I reflected on those I pray will benefit from the donations, who have very little choice or opportunity to enjoy the beauty that surrounds them.
George Green.
The justgiving page will stay open for a while for those who like to see the challenge completed before they donate. Please read the story and the updates on the page.
justgiving.com/page/george-green1
www.handsatwork.org
Fundraising for Hands at Work in Africa in The Netherlands
Gerrit den Hartog, from a Hands at Work partnership in the Netherlands, shares about a great annual fundraising activity:
“Throughout the year we collected used books, sorted through them and ensured that they were in good condition. Then, at the beginning of the summer, we organised a book sale in Leerdam, continuing an annual tradition that has become a highlight in our community.
Each book is priced at 1 Euro. With the summer holidays approaching, many people are keen to stock up on affordable reading material for their upcoming trips, so the timing works really well.
Over two weeks, we sold an incredible 5,000 books, raising an equal amount in Euros for our foundation, Stichting African Hands. This initiative directly supports the work of Hands at Work in Africa. It is great to know that through this effort we are contributing to the support of vulnerable communities in Africa.”
The Bentleys in Zambia
Lesley and John Bentley share about their recent visit to communities in Zambia:
“We stayed at Kachele for the first week, where we visited the communities of Chilabula, Maposa, Mount Moriah and Amlew. In the second week we were based in Kabwe and went to Malakota A, B and C, where no team from a Partner has visited for three years. The joy was all the greater for us as visitors and for the Care Workers, Primary Caregivers and children. As with all who visit, we came back with a kaleidoscope of images, memories, sights and sounds, but there are three images we would like to share.
The first picture is two old fellas, separated by culture, hemisphere and experiences, but united in Christ and talking and praying with a single voice. Stephen has been involved with the Care Points at Malakota from the beginning, first in local work to feed orphans and vulnerable children and then in forming the partnership with Hands at Work.
The second image is the Sergio Leone classic spaghetti western. Blue sky, flat brown landscape, wind blowing the dust as we finally arrive at the distant Care Point. These Care Points are indeed a long way from the tar road; the country is in drought and crops are failing but the persistence and determination of the Care Workers shines out in the darkness. We were able to worship together, to sit in the Care Point under a tree and to share words of truth and encouragement.
The third image is that of graduation. Pertinent in view of Lesley’s PhD graduation in October, but also a healthy image of growth and maturity. Malakota A and B are expected to graduate in two years’ time and, like a child leaving home, the community will be able to stand alone, supported by links built up with local churches and communities. That is right and proper, and creates capacity to go further from the tar road and begin to work with other communities, bringing God’s love and hope wrapped up in the three essential services of food, education and health care.
We were fortunate to visit a small church near Malakota A and B, where links are being made to foster support. We will leave you with this image. Clint Eastwood riding out of town, old generator rattling away, big loud speakers, mixer amp with all the overdrive warning lights flashing, a young vocalist with the presence of a young Smokey Robinson. This was no tears of a clown but a powerful praising of a powerful God.”
John and Lesley also celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary whilst in Zambia – many congratulations to them!
An Turas - A Trek for Malakota
George Green shares,
“I am walking for the children and Care Workers of Malakota, a rural community in Zambia.
I have been an advocate and volunteer for Hands at Work in Africa for twenty years. Hands at Work has Community Based Organisations in eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa, ensuring three essential services for orphaned and vulnerable children: food, education and basic health care.
Unforeseen crises have increasingly affected our communities - drought, cyclone, armed conflict (in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and threaten to take funds which are needed for our regular feeding programmes.
I have been interested in the historic cattle drovers; routes through the Highlands and intend to walk from Calf Rock, (where cattle would swim across Kylerhea, Isle of Skye) to Beauly near Inverness, via river valleys which cut through the highlands. My logo, An Turas; the Journey, reflects this.
I enjoy walking, and don’t really like asking people to pay me to enjoy myself, but this five-day walk really is a challenge to me. I am 78 - on the outside. Please donate generously for the children of Malakota, and for a secure and resilient community.”
You can donate on George’s JustGiving page.
A Piece of Cake
A bake sale is a great way to raise funds and awareness for Hands at Work, as shown here by the team from Woodlands Church in Bristol, who will be heading out to visit their partner community, Houtbos (which aptly translates to Wood Forest) in South Africa, later this month.
With delicious treats-a-plenty, the team set up their stall between two Sunday services. By the end, every cake had been sold, raising over £2,000!
The team has also been holding Home Group chilli nights, an Easter egg hunt and a quiz night. Not only have these been great opportunities to fundraise and have a lot of fun, but they’ve also been places to spread the word of Hands at Work and advocate for the children supported through the partnership.
If you have a fundraising story to share, please email info@uk.handsatwork.org.
Pumpkin Fundraising
We wanted to let you know about a creative fundraising idea our friends over in Hands at Work Germany have had.
This year they are running a Pumpkin Challenge in the city of Winsen in Germany, where there are many Hands at Work supporters.
For 10 Euros, participants will buy a pack of Gem Squash seeds – a variety eaten at some of the Care Points – and plant them on the same day, 25th May.
All the proceeds from the sale of the seeds will go towards supporting the children at the partnered Care Points for the three essential services of food, access to healthcare and schooling.
Seeds can be purchased from a stall at a flower market or at the church parish office. The pumpkins take around four months to harvest and have a dark green shell and nutty taste.
The challenge will culminate with an event at a community market on the 6th October where participants are invited to bring their produce and the five biggest, five heaviest and five prettiest pumpkins will be announced!
Not only is it a fun activity but it’s also a great opportunity to start conversations about Hands at Work and to tell the stories of the children and families supported by the partnership.
We wish all the participants good luck with their pumpkin growing!
You can follow along with the challenge on the Hands at Work Germany Instagram page @handsatwork_germany
We’d love to hear about your Hands at Work fundraising activities: info@uk.handsatwork.org
Dare to Defy the Darkness
As I was preparing to preach at an Easter service here in Birmingham UK, I found it very difficult to articulate a message of hope in a world where images of despair and darkness confront us every time we switch on the TV news or click on a newsfeed:
War and famine, where it is the weak and vulnerable who suffer from the decisions and actions of the powerful.
Climate change caused by human greed that threatens the lives of our children and grandchildren.
And in the city where I live, Birmingham, homelessness and child poverty are increasing while the city council is bankrupt and without the resources to deal with the crisis.
As usual, it was in thinking of the Hands at Work Care Workers in our communities that I was able to find the message of Easter.
Those ordinary people in some of the poorest communities in the world who daily dare to defy the darkness of poverty and vulnerability in their communities.
I found hope in reading George’s accounts from Goma in the DRC of Care Workers creating safe spaces amidst the chaos, danger and devastation of a huge refugee camp, so that children are fed and looked after and shown love.
I am inspired by Care Workers and Hands at Work volunteers who have the courage to bring to justice those who would abuse the girls in our communities.
I am encouraged by the day-after-day commitment of the Care Workers to turn up and prepare food for children, who otherwise would go hungry.
And they do this because it’s not right that children suffer at the hands of the powerful. It’s not right that in a world where there is enough food for all, children go hungry.
Our Care Workers dare to defy the darkness of poverty and hunger and injustice. Through their commitment and faithfulness they are saying: We will not let this happen here!
In our own context here in the UK, volunteers help out in foodbanks because parents and carers should not be going without food so that they can feed their children, or volunteer at the Places of Welcome (community drop-in centres) because in a city with a population of over 2 million people there should not be those who are lonely and isolated.
We defy the voices that say that the problem is too big and there’s nothing we can do about it.
We defy the darkness.
Because we know that bringing hope to the world starts with where we are.
It starts with us.
The message of Easter is that what God wants for us, our families, our communities, our world, is new life and new hope.
And we have the responsibility and the privilege of sharing that hope right here where God has put us.
We are called to dare to defy the darkness!
Listen to the Local Radio Interview with Nick Gurney from Neptune Cub Pack
Welcome to 2024
Hi everyone! Welcome to the first edition in 2024 of HandsTogether, the email newsletter of the Hands at Work UK Office.
You’ll notice a theme to this edition, which is focused on finances and giving. If you’ve been supporting Hands at Work for a while, you’ll know that this is not a normal focus, but we are doing it because it’s important for the work of Hands at Work at this particular moment. Over the last three years our income, which comes entirely from generous individual and partner giving, has been pretty consistent. However, the needs in Africa have increased. Over the past two years, here in the UK we have deliberately depleted our reserves to enable the work to continue as planned. That is obviously an approach that can only work once; once the reserves are spent you can’t keep topping up the gap.
That is where we find ourselves in 2024. We have a bit of wiggle room, as the exchange rates have been generous to us during 2023, but we know that this is a temporary reprieve. The headline is that we expect income of approximately £220,000 for the three essential services this year, but we need £250,000. That’s a gap of £30,000.
The model of Hands at Work is that of long-term, committed support of vulnerable communities in Africa, backed with long-term, committed giving from individuals and from the International Church. For many reasons, we’d absolutely love to plug that gap by advocating for the need in Africa and for churches and groups to step up to commit to provide the financial support.
However, generous one-off giving has always been a significant part of how we meet our income needs for the 3ES. I mentioned the expected 3ES income of £220,000. Only about £160,000 of that is from committed, regular giving. Approximately £60,000 will come from one-off gifts. This year we need to be more deliberate and intentional in asking for money and more imaginative in encouraging financial support from people who do not directly support Hands at Work at the moment.
You may have heard that we started this year with a day of prayer with a financial focus and we’ll be working hard to try and encourage people to raise money and support Hands at Work. There is already a lot of great activity going on, but we’ve historically not been great in sharing those stories. We’re going to do more, which we are hoping might inspire you to do something similar (or completely different) to help close the gap. For example, you can read in the newsletter about The Neptune Cub pack in Biggleswade who ran a ‘sponsored loo push’ to raise money to support the Mafambisa Community in South Africa.
Knowing that I’d have to be encouraging others to raise sponsorship this year, I thought it would be remiss of me not to walk the walk, and so I’ve started the year with my own fundraising effort. I’ve completed my first ultra-marathon running race, further than I’ve ever run before at 50 miles. I used Just Giving to collect some sponsorship and then sent the link to friends, family and work colleagues, and have managed to raise £1800, for which I am very grateful. As well as the money, however, it’s been an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of the work of Hands at Work and to advocate to different parts of my family and social network. It’s also led on to unexpected further opportunities. I was also sponsored with ten amazing jars of homemade honey, which I’ve then sold to raise another £60 – enough to provide support for a child for three months. Now, that doesn’t solve our income issue, but even just my one effort is 6% of the gap. Another 17 and the gap is closed!
Having used the Just Giving system it really is pretty easy to get started. If you search for ‘just giving hands at work’, find the Hands at Work just giving page and then click ‘fundraise for us’, you can follow the steps.
You don’t need to be undertaking a marathon, or even any physical activity. Maybe you have some homemade produce that you can sell at your office or church, or maybe you could organise a bake sale at a summer fete this year. Equally, it might not cost you anything at all: making sure that we’ve got your gift-aid declaration up to date makes a significant difference to our income, and I’d encourage you to fill in the gift-aid form that’s on the Hands at Work website and linked to in this newsletter.
You may find this leads you into interesting conversations along the way. Across the world there are a number of ‘friends and family’ partnerships that support communities in Africa. These are very similar to church partnerships but are where work colleagues and/or family members group together to commit to supporting a particular community for the long term. We have a couple in the UK already, which have made a real difference, and we’d love to encourage more.
Please do hear the call to action this year. We’re incredibly grateful for the generosity of everyone who supports Hands at Work, but we want to see enough money coming in to meet the needs in Africa. It’s tough to provide that support on the ground, and it would be a real shame if it boiled down to just cash being the factor that limited what could be achieved.
So, be moved, be inspired, and do a little (or big) something to help Hands at Work during 2024.
Growing a Healthy Community in Miswa
Many gardeners will tell you how good it is to spend a day tending a garden in the company of friends. The community garden in the isolated rural community of Miswa in Northern Zambia is no exception. It provides a focus for friendship and for the sharing of burdens, as well as much-needed vegetables to feed some of the most vulnerable families in this area.
Like most of the communities supported by Hands at Work, Miswa is ‘off the tar road’, which means that a trip to secondary schools, the clinic, shops and other amenities is a 14-mile journey on bumpy dirt roads. Those living in this community face many challenges, amongst them lack of clean water, food shortages and unemployment.
Walking alongside local volunteers, Hands at Work provides basic food, healthcare and education for 110 of the most vulnerable children in this community. This is done around a Life Centre, where children come each day to receive a hot nutritious meal and where they are known by name and cared for by local Care Workers.
The effects of climate change have the greatest impact on the poorest of the poor, and in Miswa the lack of rain means poor harvests and not enough food for families to feed their children.
In 2021 two boreholes were installed in the Miswa community, ensuring safe and clean access to water, and providing irrigation for the newly-planted community gardens.
This has enabled the Care Workers to plant various vegetables, which are cooked and served to the children as part of their daily meal. The Care Workers also support the young people from the community in managing the income from their youth garden.
This is all part of the Hands at Work strategy of building resilience and sustainability in the isolated communities where they work. With continued challenges such as lack of rain and little access to water beyond the boreholes, there is hope found at the Life Centre and amongst the amazing men and women who are following God’s call to care for the most vulnerable.
You and your community are invited to join us as we support these dedicated Care Workers. For more information go to: www.handsatwork.org
The Great Biggleswade Loo Push
A Bedfordshire cub pack, Neptune, has successfully raised the £1700 needed to help fund a new toilet block for Mafambisa Care Point in South Africa! Deemed a flushing success (!) the Great Biggleswade Loo Push involved two home-made toilet go-karts which were ridden in an area of Biggleswade. The unconventional take on raising money captured the Bedfordshire community, who can now proudly say that they have helped to raise money for a much-needed cause.
Mafambisa is the community partner of St Andrew’s Church in Biggleswade, where Neptune cub pack leader, Nick Gurney, attends. Donations on the day flooded in and by the end of the event the £1700 needed was not only reached but surpassed. Nick said: “We are just overjoyed by the community’s response and participation. We always hoped we would reach the donation target, but hitting the amount and surpassing the total is more than we could have wished for”. Any monies raised beyond the cost of the toilets will be used by Hands at Work wherever there is greatest need, serving to build resilience in Africa’s poorest communities.
And it’s not the end of the road for the toilet go-karts, either! They have been invited to participate in this year’s Biggleswade Carnival, so it won’t be the last time they will be seen proudly parading the streets!
Hands at Work in Africa UK Gathering Saturday 30th September 2023
Saturday 30th September 2023
Listening, Learning & Advocating
Listening
September saw the first national Gathering for all our supporters since the pandemic restrictions. Whilst it was really good to be together like that, it was also striking to see the sheer diversity: of ages present, of length of experience of Hands at Work or of complete newcomers! This diversity extended to the voices heard during the day, with video contributions from African leaders and UK volunteers. Long-term UK volunteers, Chris & Jo Poulsom, were able to be present and the voice of the African diaspora was expressed through Hands at Work UK Board member, Ann-Marie Ageyman, who challenged us to be open to what we learn and receive in our partnerships from Africa; “If we cannot express what we receive from Africa then it isn’t a partnership and it’s clouded with pride”.
During the course of the day we heard from UK teams that had visited this year, including nurse, Helen Cullen, from St. Albans, who went to support the Service Centre staff in Kabwe, Zambia, in undertaking pioneering health assessments of our children.
Learning
Chris & Jo Poulsom spoke about the process of communities moving towards independence – ‘graduation’, as we call it in Hands at Work. Working with local volunteers and church pastors, we seek to mobilise the churches in the communities to fulfil the biblical mandate to care for the orphan and widow. Chris & Jo explained how this process works in practice and how, by moving towards graduation, it enables Hands at Work to reach even more vulnerable communities.
Advocating
The Gathering was hosted by Highgrove Church in Bristol, part of the Woodlands group of churches, faithful partners of Hands at Work. They have recently built a new lobby area on the side of the church to create a more welcoming and hospitable space, which it did very effectively. As I stood welcoming people as they arrived, I could look out through the glass walls of the entrance area and see people passing on the street outside. I wondered as I did so whether they could possibly imagine what had brought us all together, this assorted gathering of people? A shared passion for the very poorest in our world, a desire to walk alongside them, learn from them, and share our gifts and resources; each person there called to return to their own context and be a voice for the people they have met and come to know by name and learn their stories – people who are themselves denied a platform. So, after a day of listening and learning, we were sent out to be a more effective voice on behalf of the poor and vulnerable.
David Newsome
Mafambisa in 2023
It was great to see the Care Workers, Khetiwe, Virginia and Marie, as well as Lucia, a new edition to the team, at Mafambisa. They were so welcoming and pleased to see us.
With the restriction on teams in ‘23 we were unable to send a team from Biggleswade. However, my daughter, Alice, had volunteered to be a teacher in a school near Durban for a year, so I travelled alone to South Africa to visit Alice and at the same time make a visit to the Hands at Work Hub and to our partner community.
I flew to Johannesburg and then onto Durban. It was school holidays in South Africa, so we were able to visit a few places before we set out to drive across the country to the Hub. We stopped off at the Nelson Mandela ‘capture’ site, which was the place where they first arrested Nelson Mandela and where he began his 27-year incarceration.
There is a very special memorial sculpture here and also a museum tracing his incredible life. A little fact we learnt is that when they stopped his car Nelson was sitting in the front, wearing a chauffeur’s uniform, and his driver was in the back as a passenger. Just one way that Nelson had avoided capture for 17 months!
We arrived at the Hands at Work Hub and the very next day were off to Mafambisa. It was great to see the children’s shelter completed; last year our team painted several coats of white and then blue paint, but we didn’t have time to do the mosaic design at the bottom – this was done a week after we left!
When we arrived, Virginia, Khetiwe and Lucia were all there. We went straight into chopping vegetables and stirring the pap – it was as if we had never been away!
Before long we set off on a Holy Home Visit – well two actually. Alice went with Khetiwe and Lucia while I went with Audrey to visit Sam, a young lad of 18 who has been coming to the Care Point for years, but recently has fallen in with a bad crowd.
Audrey, Sam and I sat under a tree and chatted. It was great to get to know Sam a little bit. In his last year of school, Sam dreams of being an airline pilot, and this gave us a chance to talk about the pitfalls of getting in with the wrong crowd, and avoiding being an innocent party caught up in an incident.
Both Audrey and I assured Sam of our love and prayers, and our trust. Sam shared that he spends time at a recording studio, where he sets poetry to music. He was able to share some with me, and it sounded great!
Alice writes about her visit:
It was another first on this home visit. We went to a home that we first visited last year. It was lovely to be able to go back and visit a young mother who last year was 16 and had just had a baby four weeks previously.
This is the blog entry from July 2022
Everything had moved on. The baby is now 12 months old and the mum 17 years old. They were living in the same home with her siblings and grandmother. The younger siblings sell crisps and narchies (satsumas) to the neighbours to raise money for food. Mum and baby are doing well and continue to be supported by the Care Workers (particularly Maria) and the Care Point. They still visit the Care Point most days and mum has gone back to school, which was a hope of hers last year. It was clear from being in this home and community that the phrase “it takes a community to raise a child” is very evident here.
Both of these visits helped us to realise the importance of partnership and of the value of getting to know a community, getting to know the Care Workers by visiting them regularly, sharing with them, going deeper.
Holy Home Visits over, we went back to the Care Point where the children were arriving. As it was school holidays, the numbers were down, but there was still plenty of singing and worship before we served the food.
It was a great first day and during the week we made three further trips to Mafambisa, just being there and walking alongside them. On one of the days we took along some nail polish and painted the Care Workers’ nails – always something that goes down really well! We had a great time out in the community, we shared with the Care Workers, we showed love, we visited homes and renewed friendships, we laughed, we sang, we worshipped, we played, we learnt, we were humbled. Our partnership grew.
The rest of the week was taken up with Youth Camp. This was a first in Africa for both Alice and me. They arrived on Monday evening, one group from Pfunani and one from Sommerset – thirty-five in all. We joined in with their worship and we helped organise games and activities. ‘Stand on a chair’ basketball was a favourite and building the highest free-standing structure using marshmallows and macaroni was competitive, exciting and a lot of fun. We really enjoyed Youth Camp. It was great to see the young people learning, worshipping and having fun together. Our final Friday was their final Friday, and it was a privilege to listen to them feed back at the end of their week.
It was very different visiting the Hub with just the two of us, instead of leading a team, but it was a real chance to catch up with long-term volunteers. It was great to be able to renew our links with the children, young people and Care Workers at Mafambisa, and really impressed upon us the need for teams and the need to establish strong partnerships. Being part of Youth Camp was a real privilege, and it was wonderful to witness this strand of Hands at Work’s outreach.
Alice & Chris Parker
Thank You Hands at Work UK!
Thanks to the swift and generous response from many of you in Hands at Work UK, the vulnerable children at the Care Point in Buhimba in the Democratic Republic of Congo can continue to receive the holistic care, love and safety that is offered by a Hands at Work Life Centre.
Buhimba is a community in the DRC close to Goma, in the north of the country, which has suffered so much from the effects of the ongoing war in that area. Buhimba itself is not in the war zone so families have not had to flee to refugee camps, as has been the case for many of our children, but the ongoing war still has an impact on the vulnerability and the safety of the children in that area.
The land on which the Buhimba Care Point was built was owned by a good Christian man who had huge compassion for the children and supported the work that Hands at Work was doing in the area. He allowed Hands at Work to rent the land for a token $5 a month, and the Care Point became a place where 120 children were fed, felt safe, and were able to play and be well-cared for.
Sadly the landowner died, and his widow faced large medical bills. The local Hands at Work team negotiated with his brother, who initially asked for $15,000 for the purchase of the land, but eventually, knowing how important Hands at Work was to his brother, agreed on $10,000.
When our Hands at Work UK WhatsApp groups were told of this situation, offers of money poured in and the money for the purchase of the land at Buhimba was pledged in about two hours! It was very moving to receive a succession of texts pledging the money in a single evening!
The legal process for the purchase of the land has now been completed, with title deeds and lawyers’ signatures ensuring that the land is safely the property of Hands at Work in the DRC.
In his message thanking Hands at Work UK for their generosity, George commented that the securing of this safe place for the vulnerable children in Buhimba has saved lives.
Thank you to all who were part of this.
Jane Newsome
Reflections on a visit to Mozambique
In the far north of Scotland there is a town named Forres, where Hands at Work partner, Turning Point Church, is located.
Turning Point Church became a partner in 2021, supporting children in the community of Matsinho B in Mozambique.
This year, three members of the Turning Point congregation travelled to Mozambique to visit the children, families, Care Workers, Primary Caregivers and Hands at Work teams who they pray for and had heard so much about.
Judith shares:
“In many ways, it is hard to put into words all that we experienced and felt as we prepared for and then went on our trip to Mozambique. Every morning, we loved meeting with the Service Centre team in Chimoio and following the rhythm of Hands at Work devotions. We spent most of our time with our partner community at Matsinho B, which we reached after a bumpy 40-minute journey across the red African soil! We prayed, worshipped, danced and cried with the Care Workers, we went on Holy Home Visits into the community, and we also got to play games and do craft activities with the children.
I have so many highlights – too many to share, but let me tell you a couple:
· On a Holy Home Visit I got to meet three girls and their father who I had been praying for over several years – and the fact that God in His kindness orchestrated that just blew me away. As I learnt their story it touched my heart even more. They had been living in a house where leeches would come up from the ground and eat them as they slept… but thanks to Hands at Work they now have a new brick home with a concrete floor and a mattress, so that they can sleep without harm.
· We were humbled by the Care Workers’ hunger for and need of God, their immediate response to fall on their knees and ask for prayer, their joy in worship of Him despite their own challenges, and their endurance to keep on giving and do their best to care for the children of their community.
We were told on many occasions what an encouragement our visit was to them but they will never know the impact they have had on our lives, how they have taught us about loving and caring and doing what we can for those around us; their hunger to see God work and move in their circumstances and community; and their smiles – they communicated so much, without words! Before we went we prayed that God would build bonds of love between us, despite the language barrier, and He answered that prayer!”
Karen shares:
“I had no idea that my first day visiting the Care Point at Matsinho B in Mozambique would change my life forever. I’ve been back home in Scotland now for several weeks but part of my heart is still there. I almost daily look back at the photographs of the children, the Care Workers, Caregivers and local church pastors, and it fills my heart with such love and joy. I saw firsthand the poverty and the vulnerability of the children but also experienced how Hands at Work makes such a positive difference in their lives through the work of the Care Point and Holy Home Visits. My experiences there have impacted my life in such a way that I feel more humbled and more appreciative of all that I have. I always advocate for the children whenever I have an opportunity to share with friends, family and work colleagues about my trip. My heart’s desire is to go back someday.”
Jane shares:
“My grandchildren, at 5 and 7 years old, always comment on how I have a song for everything. I remember finding myself singing (in my head) Rhianna’s song, ‘We found love in a hopeless place’. But I was struck by the fact that, in many people’s eyes, the communities that Hands at Work serves are counter-cultural. We found love, overwhelming love, but we also found hope, reflected in the whole Hands at Work community. It was wonderful to arrive at any of the Care Points and hear the passion of their worship. What a welcome, along with those smiling faces that ran out to meet us. Quite clearly ‘Hope has a name, His name is Jesus’ (River Valley Worship).
Rhythm is another key word from the trip. The rhythm of Hands at Work’s week and the rhythm of the people. It was a privilege to be a part of and to be able to continue to join with them in spirit, living out Ephesians 4v15-6: as each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing full of love. Holy Home Visits spoke volumes, as the families were shown that they were loved. What radiant smiles, what transformation.”
Hands at Work UK National Gathering
Hands at Work UK National Gathering
You are all invited to our Hands at Work UK national gathering taking place on Saturday 30th September.
Two Churches Become One Team
Becky Warnock shares,
“Over the Easter break, two churches became one team! The Forge Community Church in Suffolk and Hollywood Christian Life Centre in Birmingham joined forces to spend time in Zambia, specifically with the communities of Maposa and Amlew, with whom they partner. The team consisted of Peter, Deborah, Abigail and Thomas Steele (Hollywood) and Becky Warnock, Stephen Shears, Brenda Stannard, Sam Land and Ben Land (The Forge), a mix of those who have been many times, those for whom this is a second visit, and the first visit for two others.
The team spent time in both communities and also ran a four-day kids’ camp over the Easter weekend, where 40 children came and stayed at Kachele, 20 from each community. It was amazing to build relationships with the children and see them open up over the weekend as we focused on the theme of forgiveness. One young girl called Beatrice* told how her brother had taken her to work in his shop and then accused her of stealing money. She didn’t do it, but he beat her up and broke her leg. She shared how she found it hard to forgive him but knew that she had to.
There were many highlights from the trip – Holy Home Visits, walking with the Care Workers, an early sunrise service on Easter Sunday with all the children, and getting to know the long-term volunteers at Kachele.”
Watch a video filmed by team member, Ben Land from The Forge Community Church, about the visit.
A Team Reflection on a Holy Home Visit
A team from the UK recently travelled to South Africa to visit their partner communities of Mafambisa and Zwelisha. The team comprises the Link for Life Penkridge partnership in the West Midlands.
The team journaled some great reflections of their time in Africa on their blog here. All of the team members were really impacted by the Care Workers, children and Hands at Work teams they met. Here is a story from one of the Holy Home Visits they went on.
Aoife and Heidi share:
“The group visited a home about 45 minutes’ walk away from the Care Point. It was the family of a grandmother, Celia*, with four grandchildren, as well as her daughter, Rosa* (in her early 20s), all of whom attended the Care Point. There were many parts of their story which were distressing to hear and they were very poor. As we sat together under the shade of a tree, Celia was picking leaves off some wild plants that she had gathered, in order to make a thin soup as an evening meal for them all.
Originally from Mozambique, Celia came to South Africa following the war in her home country. All of her children and grandchildren are undocumented but, thanks to Care Workers supported by Hands at Work, they have been granted access to a local school.
The team was shown their home which is in need of attention. There were three rooms, one of which had a leaking roof, and another where rainwater was seeping through the floor... And they do not have a toilet. This is the sort of detailed information about a home setting which can only be found out when Care Workers visit a home. These Holy Home Visits (called Holy because the expectation is that God is present and will help) are vitally important to the work of Hands at Work.
As a result of this visit, the Care Workers and the Hands at Work Service Centre staff can assess the needs of the children and the family and see what can be done to help and support them. Their lack of a toilet will make them a high priority.
Amazingly, despite a host of very serious problems, Celia and Rosa were delighted to see us and welcomed us so warmly. We were able to pray for Celia and Rosa before we left. The visit left us with a lot to think about.”