George in Canada

Hands at Work founder George Snyman will be in Western Canada Aug 9 to 19 speaking to churches and other organisations. The following key events are open to the general public:

Sunday, August 10 – Westside King’s Church, Calgary, AB – 9:29am, 11:11am, and 6:46pm
Tuesday, August 12 – Lakeview Church, Saskatoon, SK – 7:00pm
Sunday, August 17 – First Assembly Church, Calgary, AB – 9:00am and 11:00am

For more information on these events or to arrange a meeting with George, please contact: deb@manbiz.com.

Update on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 10:22AM by Hands at Work

It is wonderful news that we have just completed a week long visit from Hands at Work in Africa founder George Snyman and co-worker Lynn Chotowetz, who came all the way from Masoyi, South Africa, to help us consolidate our new partnerships and forge the way forward.

Through the generosity and assistance of Westside Kings Church in Calgary, a number of joint events and strategy sessions were scheduled to keep George and Lynn fully engaged with the work at hand.

This trip was essential to help Hands Canada define our role, and establish partnerships with key organizations. We now have a renewed sense of commitment that with the support of the church and community, ordinary folks like us can make a difference, and that we can positively affect change in Africa.

George began his mission in Canada by speaking... (read on)

facelessbook

"Statistics turn people into a number... A quantity... A thing... But AIDS doesn't happen to 20 million people in the same way. It happens 20 million different ways one person at a time.

Each story is different. Each story deserves to be told by itself."

Check out facelessbook.com. There are currently 4 profiles up there now, all stories from orphans, caregivers and volunteers of Hands at Work projects. Courtesy of Dave Zak.

PEPFAR Awards Funds

Deputy Chief of Mission for PEPFAR, Don Teitlebaum (R) with orphans from WINROCK program in Masoyi, South Africa."Hands at Work provides home-based care services for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in the Masoyi community.  Through its PEPFAR grant of R5,250,000, Hands at Work Africa has assisted 6,500 children and over 1,200 primary caregivers.  With PEPFAR assistance, the organization hopes to reach 100,000 children in sub-Saharan Africa by 2010."

See full article

Taken from: PEPFAR Program Awards More than 700,000 rand for Ten Mpumalanga HIV/AIDS Organizations

Visiting Hours

Waves Across Africa

Have you ever stopped to consider your life and wondered how you got to where you are today? I often do! If you asked me three years ago to tell you where I would be today, in May 2008, I would never have guessed that I would be living in South Africa , a part of Hands at Work in Africa. The past 3 years have changed my life completely. My name is Carly, I’m an ordinary 28 year old woman, who was living an ordinary life in Sydney, Australia. I wasn’t the type of person who dreamt big or looked to do ‘missions’, I simply prayed that God would use me, in whatever way He chose. It’s been an adventure ever since…

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Head Shave for Hands

A long-time Hands at Work supporter shaves his head in support of a Hands at Work project. See the video:

A Church Partner Working in Luanshya, Zambia

In March, long-time Hands at Work in Africa partner Westside King’s Church sent a team of congregation members to work with the Hands at Work Luanshya Service Centre supporting the launch of a new home-based care (HBC) organization in the community of Mulenga.

Below is the team’s report of their activities training HBC volunteers, mentoring youth, and generally participating in Zambian life.

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Conference Package

The Hands at Work in Africa Int'l conference was a huge success with over 75 attendees from 12 different countries.

For those of you that were able to attend here is a file full of all the presentations and handouts from the event. Thanks for coming! See you next year!

Download my conference pack here.

13,000 Views!

See the Hands at Work video that's already got 13,000 views to date!
Watch our latest video here:

Watch all videos from Hands at Work in Africa. 

On Tour

George Snyman, founder of Hands at Work in Africa, is touring North America and the UK over the next month and a half. If you are interested in a more detailed itinerary with all the locations that George will be speaking at please email: lynn@handsatwork.org.

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New Footprints Intake

A new session of Footprints is upon us! How exciting to think that this will be our 4^th group of Footprints volunteers to join the Hands at Work team for mid-term volunteer service. Training officially began on 25 February 2008, but preparations began long ago, including prayerful consideration of which projects will receive the volunteers when they complete their 10 weeks training and depart to act as “scaffolding” at our projects across Africa. Please remember to pray for them.

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View from the Ground

by Lize-Marie Theron
For more than a year, I have worked as Hands at Work in Africa’s Human Resources officer, supporting projects across the continent from my office in South Africa. And this January I got my first opportunity to travel with Hands at Work in Africa CEO George Snyman to our projects in Zambia. It was an amazing experience that taught me many things.

We traveled between Kabwe and Luanshya, visitng project leaders and spending time with volunteers on the ground, where I learned much about giving. In Zambia I experienced an unknown freedom in the desire to give. In Zambia money had no meaning. Love was evident and it spoke to me. Of course money is what brings resources to those who serve on the ground, but it was obvious: money is not the solution to Zambia’s problems.

In Kabwe I experienced the heart and passion of a project

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Looking Back on my Footprints

Brook Bruns
One bright day last May the three of us who were the February 2007 Footprints cohort, walked our final trip down the winding South African dirt road that led from our accommodation to the Hands at Work in Africa staff base. We admired the majestic view of hills filled with huts in the distance, and we teased and joked with one another, remembering our 3-months training time together and anticipating the 6-to-9-month journey we were each about to embark on at separate Hands at Work projects across Africa.

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Hands are at Work in the USA Office

With much excitement and joy we announce the official registration of Hands at Work in Africa (USA). Hands USA, as we call ourselves, was officially formed last fall, and our team and activities have continued to develop and grow from that initiation.

Our Roots

While we exist to work with all churches across the USA, it was with Wellspring Church that our passion to start Hands USA was born. I, along with my husband, Henry, and our 3 children, traveled with Wellspring to South Africa last July. We had decided to visit Africa as a family after hosting George and Carolyn at our home for dinner while they were visiting Wellspring Church in 2006. We had been touched by their commitment and compelled to look beyond ourselves here.

That same evening after our guests had left, Henry and I made the decision to go, but also to be open to whatever further involvement God might have for me in serving Africa rather than going back to work or school as I had anticipated in the near future. In Africa, I told George about this decision. His response was incredible. He said, " Lauren, we have been praying for a year about someone like you,

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UK summer newsletter 2008

Christmas in May in Swaziland • Spend two weeks in Africa • UK represented at African Leaders and International Conferences 2008 • British schools help with GoLD future in South Africa • From Halesowen to Africa - college students link with Zambia schools
• Regular monthly giving • Financial Statement for first 17 months as a registered charity • Your Will, Their future - a legacy from you will be such a welcome gift to ensure a future of hope and fulfilment for those affected •  Schools Service - From infant classes to agricultural students, talks are tailored suitably • Hairless for Hands! GBP1395 raised!  Forthcoming fundraising events: throw yourself off St Peter’s Church for Hands at Work  Abseiling with local scouts - “hands...at work... in Africa” photo exhibition -  “An evening of Words and Music” - performed by singers of the much acclaimed Midlands Chorale and The Keele Poets - whose poetry reaches parts of your soul no-one else ever has • Christmas is coming...
Give someone something useful this Christmas. Now you can make a difference to the lives of those affected by HIV/AIDS - and give it as a present to someone special! • Progress in Nigeria - Local managers report in Nigeria on our Lagos Home Based Care (HBC) Programme, and helping commercial sex workers tackle the daily problems of HIV/AIDS at Isolo. We include some stories of children given new hope by volunteers on our Community Based Organisation (CBO)