The Story of Mluti Community
Mluti is a tough community where theft and violence regularly occur. There is little work prospect and many people misuse alcohol. Many people in Mluti are from Mozambique having fled after widespread conflict or famine. As a result, they do not have proper identification documents, thus restricting their access to basic services such as education and health care and greatly increasing their vulnerability. Another challenge in this community is having a consistent source of water as the water trucks are irregular. When the trucks do come, the drivers are selective in determining where the water is delivered.
Children currently supported 60
6 Care Workers coordinated by Nomsa
Basic Services Started in 2012
70 km from HAZYVIEW Local Office
Senty is a compassionate and driven woman living in Mluti Community, who has a heart to care for the poorest of the poor in her community. In 2003, she, along with a group of women formed Mandlesive home based care, aimed at primarily caring for patients and then children. In 2012, Hands at Work partnered with Senty and the group of Care Workers and together began caring for the most vulnerable children, ensuring that they had access to a hot, nutritious meal daily and were supported with their education and basic health care.
Over the years, the vision of Hands at Work and the Mandlesive home based care began to differ. Senty and her team at Mandlesive home based care felt called to care for the patients in their community while as Hands at Work, we are called to serve the most vulnerable children.
Gradually, the local Hands at Work team in Hazyview began to mobilise a few new Care Workers, with a heart to serve the most vulnerable children. In 2016, the Mluti Community Based Organisation (CBO) was formed – independent from Mandlesive. The new Care Workers participated in a Foundations training facilitated by the Hazyview team and the South African Regional Support Team. The Care Workers learned about the Hands at Work vision and the importance of sharing their stories with one another.
When the local Hands at Work team in Hazyview visits Mluti, they take time to pray and share the word of God with the Care Workers, desiring to see the Care Workers grow in their relationship with one another. The local Hands at Work team has actively supported the Care Workers in not only their commitment to improving the care of specific children who are incredibly vulnerable, but also in developing trusting relationships with the Primary Caregivers of the children coming to the Care Point.
Over the years, various physical improvements have been made at the Care Point, including reinforcing and creating new steps that lead down the steep hill to the Care Point, the installation of a security gate on the storage room to ensure the food for the children’s daily meal is kept safe, and new floor tiles.
Meet Frank
Care Worker Nolwazi smiles as she sees 11-year-old Frank* and his siblings walking towards the Care Point. She knows their story well. They came from Mozambique with their grandmother (gogo), who took them in after their mother passed away. Gogo is currently away, learning to be a traditional healer for the next two years. The siblings have moved in with their older sister who works hard doing odd jobs, like laundry, for people in the community. Sadly, the family has no documentation, meaning they can’t access any government support. But they know that Jesus has a plan for them, and he has given them Nolwazi for support. She loves Frank and his siblings like her own children, supporting them practically and emotionally. Nolwazi has seen them grow and change since they joined the Care Point in 2017. She says they are respectful, loving, and enjoy each other’s company. In God’s mercy, they are not alone.
The local Hands at Work team in Hazyview currently supports six 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 Mluti. It also gives administrative support, including helping with funding proposals, monitoring and evaluation, bookkeeping and reporting to donors.
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