Radical Advent: story of Angela from Kisunka, DRC

As a part of our Radical Advent Christmas campaign we want to share a story of a very determined young girl from Kisunka.  Angela lost her parents when she was just two years old.  Her aunt took her in, but like most other villagers, she works on a farm and earns barely enough money to survive.  As a young girl, Angela struggled with her job of taking the family goats to graze for most of the day, leaving little time for play. 

When Kisunka Community Based Organization (CBO) began caring for her, she had never been in school.  Now, at nine years old, she is in second grade and working hard.  After facing many challenges, Angela says she has big dreams for her future and is grateful to Kisunka CBO for enabling her to attend school.  She has made friends with the other children and feels loved by the Kisunka CBO care workers who visit her at home.Make this a Radical Advent by supporting Hands at Work in improving access to education to poor children in Africa! Please consider making a donation to our Christmas campaign here.

Radical Advent: a snapshot of Kisunka, DRC

As a part of our Radical Advent Christmas campaign, we want to highlight Kisunka, a cluster of villages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo so remote that few non-profit organizations can reach it to provide support. Kisunka lacks access to clean drinking water, education, health care, and sustainable work. These circumstances contribute to an overall sense of hopelessness among the approximately 5,000 villagers, many of whom are struggling to survive. 

Diseases like tuberculosis and leprosy are common in Kisunka.  There is no clinic, so the sick must travel 9 miles to the nearest health center.  To supplement meager crops from farming, some impoverished villagers try to earn extra income by fishing in Changalele, a lakenearby Kisunka. However, the good fishing at Changalelemeans that large numbers of seasonal workers travel to the area for fishing and other trade.  As is common in other areas of sub-Saharan Africa, this has led to the sexual exploitation of those who are most desperate for survival, such as orphaned young girls, contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Hands at Work is supporting local Christian leaders in Kisunkato develop a locally-owned organization in their community to meet the needs of orphaned and vulnerable children. Before they started, Kisunkahad not had a school for the past twenty years, so very few of the children had any education. The cost of education and the 9 mile walk to get to the nearest school were huge hurdles, especially for orphaned children. In partnership with Hands at Work since 2011,KisunkaCommunity Based Organization has provided food security, basic health care, and access to education to 75 orphaned and vulnerable children—children who deserve love and care and hope.  Make this a Radical Advent by supporting Hands at Work in serving remote and impoverished communities like Kisunka.  Please consider making a donation to our Christmas campaign here.

Radical Advent: Esther’s Story from Mwaiseni, Zambia

As a part of our Radical Advent Christmas campaign, we want to share a story of a teacher from Zambia today.  Esther used to teach at a public school, but when she realized that many of the orphans in her village weren’t able to afford the fees to attend the public school, she decided to make a radical change.  First, she used her modest income to build a small two-bedroom house.  As a single woman with two children and two grandchildren, her neighbors complained the new house was beyond her means.  But this was part of Esther’s plan.  She now shares one bedroom with her two grandchildren, who live with her.  In the spare bedroom, she raises dozens of chickens, and the income from selling chickens enabled Esther to take the risky step of leaving the security of her government job.  Now Esther’s living room doubles as her classroom, because every weekday she teaches 106 of the poorest children in her community out of her living room! 

Hands at Work empowers people like Esther in the poorest villages in Africa who are radically serving the poor and helps build a team of local Christians around them to multiply their efforts.  Make this a Radical Advent by supporting Hands at Work in improving access to education for poor children in Africa!  Please consider making a donation to our Christmas campaign here.

Radical Advent: Meredith's Story from Susu, Zambia

As a part of our Radical Advent Christmas campaign, we want to share Meredith's story.  She is an 8-year-old girl living in the community of Susu. Meredith attends the Susu Community School and is currently in first grade. Meredith lives with her two siblings, mother and grandmother - many people for their small house. Meredith’s father died when she was only four months old and sadly, her mother struggled to cope with caring for her 3 children. The family moved in with Meredith's grandmother so that there was another adult in the house to help with daily chores and taking care of the children. Unfortunately, Meredith's grandmother is aging and it’s a struggle to look after the whole family. They found it difficult to find good food and they often went to sleep on empty stomachs.

The Care Workers in Susu found this family and wanted to help them. They started by registering Meredith and her siblings at the feeding point where the children can eat a nutritious meal each day. Meredith says the biggest difference it has made to her is that she now gets food every day without needing to worry. She feels like she now has energy to work well at school, and she was very pleased to pass her recent school exams.

Meredith's Care Worker, Patricia, frequently visits this needy family, taking soap for them, helping to wash their clothes and sometimes bringing gifts of corn meal. Patricia encourages the children to attend school each day, too. Meredith loves it when Patricia visits her - particularly when she brings sweet potatoes as a gift for the family!  Hands' partners in the U.S. have provided critical prayer, short-term teams, and financial support enabling local Christian volunteers to care for children like Meredith and her brother and sister in Susu.  Many other communities have no support.  If you are able, please consider making a donation to our Christmas campaign here.

Radical Advent: Susu, Zambia

As a part of our Radical Advent christmas campaign, we want to highlight Susu, a rural community in Zambia.  Hands at Work identified Susu as a village with particularly high rates of HIV/AIDS and low access to support; government clinics, hospitals and schools are too far away for the local people to access. Though the situation in Susu is desperate, the local Care Worker team, with the support of partners outside the community, is making a great impact. Many of the children visited by Susu Home-based Care attend the Community School, which was started by a local church in 2004. The school has six volunteer teachers, dedicating their time to giving 250 children in Susu a basic education.

The school used to meet outside under trees, but in faith the community made bricks for a school. In 2011, in partnership with Hands at Work, they were able to complete a large building with two classrooms and an office for the teachers. This has made a huge difference to the community; having shelter means the school can continue during rainy season, and now the children have desks to work at!

Surrounding streams supply Susu with water but during the hot months the streams dry up. In the past, the community had no option but to walk long distances to fetch water. However, in 2010 a Hands at Work support partner blessed the community of Susu with the drilling of a borehole well on the school property, a tank to hold water, and a pump run by a solar panel. In a community where there is no electricity and no access to a clean drinking water source, this is a huge blessing. The community is overjoyed—now the children have a safe and dependable drinking water source and it will help to decrease illness in Susu.  Make this a Radical Advent by supporting Hands at Work in serving destitute communities like Susu!  Please consider making a donation to our Christmas campaign here. 

Radical Advent: Sandy’s Story from Balaka, Zambia

Seven-year-old Sandy lost both of her parents to serious illnesses back in 2006. Sandy now lives with her aunt in Balaka, and her other siblings are all scattered in different homes with relatives. Though she has a guardian, Sandy faces many difficulties. Her household relies on her aunt getting casual work to buy food, but her aunt struggles with alcohol abuse and the family often goes without eating. There are currently nine people living in her small home.  Sandy’s clothing consists of only two dresses and she attends school bare-footed. 

Though Sandy continues to have a difficult home situation, Balaka Community Based Organization (CBO) strives to provide her with the love of a family.  The Care Workers have adopted Sandy as one of their own, and she is now attending the Care Point every day where she receives one nutritious meal a day.  Those who know her say she also now wears a smile!  For a girl who has faced many challenges at a young age, this love and care provides the hope she needs to have faith in her future.  Hands at Work supports CBOs like this one to reach the most vulnerable children like Sandy.  Make this a Radical Advent by supporting Hands at Work in serving orphaned children in Africa!  Please consider making a donation to our Christmas campaign here.

Radical Advent: Samuel & Elijah's Story from Ilaje, Nigeria

As a part of our Radical Advent Campaign, we want to share a story of two precious boys from Ilaje.  Samuel is 7 years old, and his brother Elijah is 4 years old. When Elijah was still a baby, their mother was chased away from their home after being accused of adultery, leaving Samuel and Elijah in the care of their father. However, the boys’ father died in a motor accident three years later.  Since then, the boys live with a relative who tries to provide for them with the little money he earns from fishing. Unable to pay for their school fees, the brothers had been out of school for two years before being discovered by the local, volunteer Care Workers of Ilaje Community Based Organization.  

Today, they are enrolled at Masory School; Samuel is in first grade and Elijah is in nursery school. Both boys receive a nutritious meal each day and are able to play with other children in the program. The regular home visits they receive from the Ilaje Care Workers shows Samuel and Elijah that they are loved, and that they still have parental figures in their lives that care deeply about them.  Make this a Radical Advent by supporting Hands at Work in improving access to secure sources of food and education for poor children in Africa!  Please consider making a donation to our Christmas campaign here.

Radical Advent: The Story of Eight Siblings from Ago-Okota, Nigeria

As a part of our Radical Advent Campaign, we want to share a story from Ago Okota, another community located within Lagos, Nigeria.  Ally, Precious and Caleb are the youngest of eight children in their family.  They lost both parents to a tragic car accident a few years ago.  Since the accident, the children have not been able to afford their rent.  One by one, they dropped out of school, unable to pay for their school fees, uniforms or books.  A few of the older siblings had to move to stay with a relative while other siblings tried their best to find menial work to earn enough to feed their younger siblings.  They were eventually forced out of their home for not paying their rent and ended up living in a slum in Ago-Okota community.  Ally, Precious and Caleb would stay home while the older siblings would go out looking for ways to make enough money to afford even one meal a day. 

Things started looking up when a couple of the older siblings, Martha and Florence, were told by one of their neighbors in the community about the 'We Care' community school, which supports and cares for orphaned and vulnerable children.  The sisters visited the school to see if their three younger siblings could be enrolled. Several assessments were made by the Care Workers who realized these children were indeed incredibly vulnerable, and they were enrolled at the community school.  Both Ally and Precious are now in primary school while Caleb is in nursery. The children receive one hot meal per day--their only meal--at the community school. They are so happy to be back in school, learning again and making new friends.  Make this a Radical Advent by supporting Hands at Work in improving access to education for poor children like Ally, Precious, and Caleb!  Please consider making a donation to our Christmas campaign here.