The Story of Kanona Community

The community of Kanona is located north of Kikula B, another community that Hands at Work supports. It is a heavily congested community, with homes located close to one another. There is no formal employment or industry, and farming is non-existent. In order to either find employment or do farming, people have to travel long distances. Although witchcraft and traditional healers have strongholds in many communities across Africa, they are particularly prominent in Kanona – only adding to the brokenness that exists there. Compounding these challenges is the reality that many people struggle with the abuse of alcohol. 

50 Children currently supported by 15 Care Workers

Basic Services Started in July 2025

10 KM from the Likasi Local Office

In 2009, Erick, one of the leaders of the Regional Support Team, was walking in Kitabataba, another community that Hands at Work serves in, sharing about Christ. While he was there he met a man who, after giving his life to the Lord, told Erick about a man in Kanona who was struggling with a serious leg ailment and was in desperate need of prayer. Committed to seeking out the most vulnerable, Erick visited the community and, after asking many different people, found the man who Lambert had told him about. Hearing his story in full, Erick learned that he had been taken to many different traditional healers to seek healing but nothing had worked. During that visit, Erick led this man to the Lord and, although he passed away a few days later, the man passed knowing the Lord.

Many years later, in 2022, when the local Hands at Work team in Likasi wanted to expand into new communities, Erick remembered Kanona and the extreme vulnerability that existed there. As the Likasi team started walking in Kanona (visiting families and getting to know the community leaders) they were able to see firsthand its extreme vulnerability and the strong presence of traditional healers and witchcraft. 

With the understanding that the vision of Hands at Work is to mobilise the local church and equip it to care for the most vulnerable, the work in Kanona started by mobilising the local churches to share the vision of who we are and what we do. Out of the meeting with the local churches’ mobilisation, several individuals with hearts to serve raised their hands and committed to being the first Care Workers.

In April 2025, the Likasi team facilitated a Foundations Training for the Care Workers and local pastors, where they shared in greater detail the vision of what it means to have Christ as Our Foundation and the importance of Holy Home Visits. From there, the Likasi team, together with the Care Workers and pastors, made Holy Home Visits to the most vulnerable families in the community so that they could hear their stories and invite them to the Care Point. The Kanona Community Based Organisation began officially serving 50 of the most vulnerable children in July 2025.

The local Hands at Work team in Likasi currently supports seven 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 Kanona.  It also gives administrative support, including helping with funding proposals, monitoring and evaluation, bookkeeping and reporting to donors.  

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