Fleeing to a New Refugee Camp

At the start of the war, our people from Luhonga fled to a place called Bulengo, where there is a massive refugee camp. This is where our Primary Caregivers and Care Workers are now and where they are feeding the children.

When the war got close to the community of Katembe, the people fled to a place called Sake in late 2023. In February, everyone from the refugee camp in Sake as well as everyone who lived in Sake fled to Goma, but the Bulengo camp had no space for them so they found another open piece of land where a new refugee camp is busy forming. This is new refugee camp is called Sam-Sam. It is smaller but still houses tens of thousands of people. The most vulnerable families that we are serving and the Care Workers are among the large number of people who have fled and formed this new camp due to the M23 invasion and bombings in Sake.

We have tried to keep all of our children, their families and the Care Workers from Katembe together. Within this big piece of land of Sam-Sam, we have found one piece on the edge of the area. This is where everyone is building their temporary home (tent like shacks).

There is a small wooden house here which has been turned into a Care Point. This is where we will build a simple fence made of canvas around the house to demarcate the Care Point as a place of safety and we will dig a toilet here. This is that place where we feed the children. They receive porridge in the morning and lunch at the Care Point.

Distribution of Clothing and Back to School



We bought a big bale of second-hand clothing and managed to give each child something warm. This group photo is probably the most memorable so far. It tells such a story if you can see beyond what normal eyes see.

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Today, our children were back at school! Praise God!

Lost and Found!

Since last week our leaders in Luhonga, the Democratic Republic of Congo, have been searching extensively in all the surrounding refugee camps for our children who went missing as they fled from the conflict that broke out in their villages.

Yesterday they found one of our boys. He was excited to show us the shoes he used to run from the war. Today all were found except 2 of the children who we are still looking for.

Please continue to pray for our leaders and their teams in Luhonga as they continue to go out in the midst of conflict to find every single one of our missing children.

Please Pray for Katembe

Please pray for our Care Point in Katembe. We've got one week's food left and at the moment we cannot get into Katembe and it is very difficult for those who are in Katembe to get out. It is very dangerous.

Pray for Care Workers and our Primary Caregivers who are in the refugee camps in Buhimba.  They do not have tents, water or food. Hands at Work is purchasing canvas today so they can make their own tents, and providing water. We do not have provision of food for Care Workers and Primary Caregivers within the budget, so we are trying to work that out.

Pray for our children in our own camp - that God will keep protecting them and our Care Workers. We are trying to ensure a hygienic environment in the camp.

The situation even just outside of the church is desperately unclean and is ripe for all sorts of disease. Please pray for God's protection, the health of our children and for their safety. It is a very unsafe environment right now.

Fleeing from Sake to Goma

People fleeing from Sake to Goma. Spoke to Bindu today, our children are safe in our camp. The raining season started now and they are doing their best to keep everyone dry in our camp. Pray specifically for no disease outbreaks. And for all the children and Primary Care Givers that are not with us yet. For Katembe, please pray for the safety of all of them in the village.

In Buhimba | Everyone from Sake fled - and the rain is coming strong. Please pray for the team and keep praying for good health.

More Children Arriving in Buhimba

As of yesterday more children are arriving into Buhimba. Pray for our team as they give basic care in impossible circumstances, pray for each child as this is obviously causing huge trauma. Contine to pray for our children in Sake and other places safety

Join Us in Prayer

Yesterday, in the mountainous region of Katembe where Hands at Work established a Life Centre in 2021 and where we are caring for 100 orphaned and vulnerable children, violence spread so close to the village that people were forced to flee on foot for their lives. Grandmothers and children are scattered down the mountain and Hands at Work are desperately searching for those who will not survive without support and care.

Please pray for the community of Katembe, for our children and their Care Givers including the very elderly and sick. Pray for our local team on the ground to locate those who had to flee. Pray for peace to reign in and around Katembe.

To learn more about the escalating crisis in Goma, please visit this trusted site:
Al Jazeera: The cost of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s war with M23

Please pray for peace and stability in the region, the protection of the most vulnerable who are caught in the crossfire, and the hearts of those engaged in the conflict to be opened to the saving grace of Jesus. If you are moved to support our ongoing work in the DRC financially, please click on the link at the bottom of this page.

This Is What You Are A Part Of...

In mid-March, Cyclone Idai hit South Eastern Africa - a disaster for tens of thousands of people. Today, nearly 6 months after Cyclone Idai hit, the immediacy of the crisis may be over, but the lasting effects continue to be felt by those in the worst-hit communities. Together, we are supporting communities, focusing on sustainability and building their resilience for the future.

With your prayers, financial support and advocacy in the wake of the cyclone, the response had an amazing impact.

Thank you for your help

We have shared many examples of unity and transformation throughout our response. Your giving has helped the community of Chigodole to become stronger. The Care Workers, Primary Care Givers and local Hands at Work volunteers have cultivated a garden of potatoes and cabbages, and the harvest is promising to be plentiful. Each Care Worker and Primary Care Giver benefitted from their own portion of the harvest, which has created unity and a sense of ownership within the community.

Moving forward, you will receive an update on Cyclone Idai response efforts in November via a Newsletter. In the coming months, additional updates on our efforts can be found on our website and social media.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17

Stories Of Hope And Resilience In Zimbabwe

In mid-March, Cyclone Idai hit South Eastern Africa - a disaster for tens of thousands of people. As a result of the cyclone, many of the communities in Mozambique and Zimbabwe are facing a total loss of their crop at a critical harvest time, extending the yearly hunger season by another 12 months.

Local Bulk Purchasing

In the months following Cyclone Idai, it has become increasingly difficult to purchase maize, a staple food. Recently, Hands at Work was able to bulk-purchase food which will sustain all of our communities in Zimbabwe for the next six months. In the Honde Valley, all of the maize and beans were purchased locally from Primary Caregivers and Care Workers. This not only brought food security for our own communities, but for the families themselves who received a fair price for their harvest. This is one example of how communities have been strengthened and resiliency built through supporting one another. This week, they will come together at the Pimai B Life Centre to ‘treat’ the maize and portion it into bags for storage. This community who have experienced so much loss is now united in bringing new hope!

Building a future

The bulk purchase of food and supplies is being stored in newly purchased containers situated at the Pimai B and Sakubva Life Centres. In Sakubva, one of the grandfathers came to the Life Centre with his tools, desiring to teach some of the youth his basic carpentry skills. He has offered to support these young people to make pallets on which they will store the food in the containers at the Life Centres. A new generation is being equipped with essential skills which we hope will not only benefit the work today, but provide employment and stability far into the future.

Meanwhile In The Wake Of Cyclone Idia

Meanwhile in Africa...
Cyclone Idai podcast round up: Meanwhile in Africa... is a 3+ minute story shared by George Snyman about serving Africa's most vulnerable through Hands at Work in Africa. The following stories are selections from the podcast which specifically relate to the devastating cyclone that hit Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi in mid-March.

Go Find Them (June 1, 2019)

She's so vulnerable. The Cyclone hit her and her mom's hut, and overnight they disappeared. They left the village, going four hours into the bushes in a very tough area where men don't like to go.

On The Rubble Of Their Homes (April 13, 2019) 

One of my prayers has always been: Lord, when those times must come to me, may your name be glorified. And that's going to take Supernatural power because in myself, I've got nothing.

Busy Cooking (April 6, 2019)

She is looking after a number of orphans in her hut. And in the middle of the night, they had to jump out of the house as it completely collapsed. Today they are living in a little kitchen hut.

Waiting in the Dark (March 30, 2019)

They didn't know Audrey and I would be coming late that night. Imagine how vulnerable they were if they went to a grandmother with three orphans whose house already collapsed.

Cyclone Idai (March 30, 2019) 

One of the first things that you learn when you're on ground zero in Africa after a tragedy like this, is the incredibly small margin for error the poorest of the poor people have when facing a normal, big problem or crisis turned into a disaster.

Malawi in the Wake of Cyclone Idai

As a result of Cyclone Idai, many homes were destroyed and many of the communities in Mozambique and Zimbabwe are facing a total loss of their harvest. This will have a devastating impact in the year to come, as many will face a twelve-month-long hunger season.

In Malawi, many homes were destroyed but uniquely, there exists a certain resilience amongst families. All of the families that Hands at Work are serving are currently under shelter, however some of the situations are fragile.

Mildred* and her grandchildren’s house was completely destroyed by Cyclone Idai. Thankfully, she lives on a homestead, typical of families in rural Malawi. While they rebuild, they are able to stay in the home of another family member who lives on their homestead. In communities like Mildred’s, many homes are made with mud bricks which were eroded by the unyielding rains caused by the cyclone. And then, during the night, one of the walls of Mildred’s home fell down. The family scrambled to save what they could before the rest of the home completely collapsed. Today, only the foundation remains.

In Malawi, homesteads are a grouping of small houses on a single property. Extended family live on this property with a communal kitchen shared by everyone. Because the family lives together, the homestead offers some level of resilience. As there are multiple dwellings on one property, families have a place to stay while they come together to rebuild their own homes.

The period between now and October is ideal for building; the rains have ceased and it is currently dry. Families, Care Workers, the local Hands at Work team in Dedza, alongside the Regional Support Team are working to rebuild the houses on homesteads where the worst of the living situations exist. They continue to build resilience, strengthening homesteads and family units.