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.”