The Story of Masasi B Community

Isolated and in the middle of the bush, Masasi B is a community located far from the main road. Although Masasi B is located close to a diamond mine, it is a place of desperation with few employment opportunities, which encourages small illegal mines. Early marriage abounds, as does a heavy presence of witchcraft and ancestral worship.

A community known as a drought area, Masasi B’s soil is infertile and struggles to produce the food that is desperately needed. Although through subsistence farming people try to grow millet, a drought-resistant crop, they are unable to harvest enough to provide for their families. Each year the community faces an extreme season.

56 Children currently supported by 16 Care Workers

Basic Services Started in 2024

110 km from the MUTARE Local Office

Masasi was identified in 2021 by Hands at Work leaders in Zimbabwe as one of the most vulnerable communities, by word of mouth. In 2022, when local leaders were re-visiting the community, they connected with key people such as the Council Leader and Village Chief, with whom they shared the vision and heart of Hands at Work. At one point during this meeting the community Councillor said, “there have been many organisations come to this community. They see and then go. They drilled a borehole, but none of them came to look after the orphaned and vulnerable children”. As Hands at Work leaders met with different individuals, it was clear that God was revealing to them the right people in the community to serve.

As the team was identifying the most vulnerable children to come to the Care Point, God was busy revealing His heart for the community. On one occasion, they met a child named Gift*, who was busy looking for mice to eat. Leading the team to the home where he stays with his auntie, they learned that his mother had died and his father had left the family and run away. Gift was one of the many vulnerable children that the team met. Hearing their stories, it became even more clear that this was the right place for them to be.

Two local women showed the team around the community and spoke on behalf of the children. Inviting their Primary Caregivers to be Care Workers, the team created the new Masasi Community Based Organisation (CBO) around these children.

In Masasi B, the Care Workers and the local Hands at Work team in Mutare became increasingly aware of many children that they were unable to reach because of the distance that they would have to walk to get to the Care Point. In response, they planned on mobilising another group of Care Workers to form the Masasi B CBO, which would care for the children in this other area. After a series of setbacks, the Masasi B CBO began caring for 50 of the most vulnerable children in July 2024. Also in July, the new Care Workers participated in a Foundations Training, where they learned about the vision and heart of Hands at Work and the responsibility that they carried in being Care Workers.

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