40 Days of Prayer
Hands at Work
Meet Mwete

Raising a large family isn’t easy but Mama Safi isn’t alone in caring for Mwete. He has a bigger family of support at the Care Point, with the Care Workers and the other children.

Meet Mwete

Hands at Work in Africa

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Kristal's Experience

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I spent just over a year and a half with Hands at Work in Africa.  The majority of my time was spent in South Africa, but I had the opportunity of spending a month in Zambia and two weeks in Nigeria.  The first 7 months of my time was spent teaching in a program for orphaned students in the community of Masoyi, South Africa.  This gave me the opportunity to get deep into the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in South Africa.  I slept many nights in rooms with up to 8 people, I walked and drove many kilometers, and I ate many chicken feet, I shook hands with and sat awkwardly in silence with many Grannies, I bought many loaves of bread, I heard many heart-breaking stories, and I cried many heart-broken tears.  It was such a privilege for me to spend myself on behalf of these students.  They are the funniest, most compassionate, most interesting people I've ever met.  I learned to love a self-less love.  It was never about me anymore.  It was about them.  It was about seeing them succeed and change Africa.  When I left Canada, a lot of my friends would tell people I'm away changing the world.  I wasn't changing the world.  I was supporting them, empowering them and enabling them to change the world.  When John speaks of Jesus in John Chapter 3, he says, "He must become greater, I must become less",  I found this also true of the people I was working with.  They must become greater and I must become less.  It's Africa's only hope

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Update on Zambia

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Mutende Home-Based Care (HBC) in Roan

In 2002 Gugu’s father died.  She was only 9-years old when her mother sent her to stay with her aunt.  When she returned to Luanshya 3 years later, Gugu was shocked to find that her whole world had changed.  She says, “At home we usually went to bed with empty stomachs or could only eat once a day.  I didn’t go to school because there was no one to sponsor or to buy school necessities for me.”  Since then, Mutende HBC has supported Gugu by providing food periodically to her family, by helping her to return to school, and by teaching her life skills.  “But for the help of Mutende HBC we managed to survive...I am very happy and grateful for what they do because if not for them, I don’t know what would have happened to my life.”   With your help, Hands at Work supports Mutende HBC and other similar community-owned initiatives through training, encouragement, and support for three essential services for orphaned and vulnerable children—basic health, food security, and education.

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It was God's Plan for Me (MOZ)

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When Gertrude was 6 years old her father died, leaving her mother to care for her and her 4 year old brother, Alexandre. “It was sad for us to lose our father,” Germena says. “It was difficult. No one was helping us, and my mother worked very hard in the fields to provide food for us. We did not have any money and many times we went to bed hungry. Without a father in the house we did not feel safe and were scared of other people to abuse us.”

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NURSES FOR AFRICA

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Did we make a difference in Zambia or did Zambia make a difference in us?

In the summer of 2009, 16 nurses, all employed by Rosewood Care Centers traveled to Zambia to partner with Hands at Work on a medical mission in Kabwe.  Most of the nurses had not traveled outside the United States and took on this challenge by faith and with a bit of apprehension.  Once we arrived in Kabwe and met up with the Hands at Work Service Center workers we knew we were in good hands and that God had surely led us to this place for a purpose.

Each morning the nurses visited different schools and provided deworming medication along with age based HIV/AIDS education, bible stories, and instructions for dental hygiene.  Children received a toothbrush and toothpaste along with small toys, crayons, and various school supplies.  Badly needed blackboards were brought to the schools which delighted the teachers.  At the end of the week, the nurses hosted a teacher’s training session and luncheon. We provided some American dishes for the teachers to sample

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Local Business Supporting Hands at Work (AUS)

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Chelsea Eva of Ballarat in Victoria Australia, owns and operates EVE Salon and Beauty Bar, a small hair salon business that commenced trading in late 2009. When Chelsea heard (through one of her clients obviously) that Hands at Work in Africa founder George Snyman would be visiting Ballarat, she thought it was the perfect opportunity to do something herself to assist with the work of Hands at Work.

On the same day George was speaking with Ballarat school students, Chelsea was styling hair, as she normally would; but she had also committed to giving 10% of all sales on the day towards Hands at Work.

Although she desires to visit Africa herself in the future, Chelsea identified that she could put her skills to good use and easily assist those who are working on the cold face in Africa.

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South Africa/Swaziland Regional Conference Highlight

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We just finished our first regional conference last week, and it was a huge success!  For many the highlight of the South Africa/Swaziland conference was Thulile sharing her story of helping children.

In November 2009, five brothers and sisters under the age of 12 huddled themselves in their stick and mud hut on a deserted hillside in rural Swaziland and watched their sick mother die. Their father had died in the same hut a year earlier, leaving the children to look after their sick mother for months before she passed away. They had not been attending school, had no school uniforms or books, and now they were alone without even a single day’s food.

After two weeks fending for their lives, a neighbor found the children eating mud on the bank of a river to keep their stomachs full.  He went to speak with Asondle Sive Bomake (ASB), a hands at work partner CBO in the area.  After the neighbor spoke with ASB, they assigned Thulile to visit the children. When Thulile first went to see the children they ran away.  Thulile said, "They didn't want to be around other people at all." 

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A Step of Obedience (ZIM)

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(Emily is the country representative for Zimbabwe and is always overjoyed by the growth of people as they take responsible for the orphans and the widows. This is a story of how one of pastors who we partner with, took a step of obedience in taking two orphans and caring for them without much to give except love.)

At the beginning of the year it was once again my privilege to travel to Zimbabwe, where I have been the contact person for the work that is happening in Zimbabwe for Hands at Work,

As I was driving up with a colleague, a lot was going  through my mind as I remember the experiences I had  the last time I was in Zimbabwe, and where I was challenged by the ladies I worked with.

There were a group of 23 women and 2 men all going to do Home Visits training.  We had all left the slum area of Sakubva where Hands is partnering with CBO [community based organization] called Tafara Christian care and led by Stuart.

The shared rooms were designed to accommodation single men that were working for the railways from neighbouring Mozambique and Malawi. A curtain was used to divide the rooms for some privacy. 

These rooms have now become home for many in Sakubva who are being trained for Home Visits training and shared with their families which include the men and women.  Many of these trainees are either single or widowed.  There are quite a number of these people who themselves are ill and are on treatment. 

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40 Days of Prayer

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Hands at Work in Africa is asking you to join with us in 40 days of prayer for orphans.  This is only a suggested guide.  This time of prayer will coincide with our multiple Hands at Work Regional conferences that are happening all over Africa.  If some faithful members can meet daily, so much the better, but if not, do not let that discourage you.  Pray alone if necessary and meet whenever possible.  Know that many across the globe are joining you daily, together in agreement in prayer.  Gather 2 or 3 (or more) people in a home or a church or anywhere and the Lord will be with you and hear your prayers.  Matthew 18:20, "For wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am with them, in their midst."  

 The most important part is to commit to praying daily!

Thank you for choosing to join us on this 40 day journey in prayer starting Monday, 15 March, 2010.  Please keep in mind our conference theme, NOW IS THE TIME, LIVE IT OUT, "So that the poor have hope and injustice shuts its mouth."  Job 5:16

Partnering with The Forge Church, Listen to George's Message.

Hands at Work in Africa has little hubs of activity popping up around the world, one of them is in the UK where an office was birthed to be able to support existing church partners and foster new ones. An example of this is The Forge Church, near Ipswich, UK which was introduced to Hands at Work through another church partner. Since being introduced to Hands at Work two years ago, the Forge has sent two couples to work long term in Africa. Through an introduction from a trusted friend grew a quick and deep relationship between this church and Hands at Work. Although small, The Forge Church was able to quickly open its doors to the Hands message and as a result is having a huge impact in Africa. 

Recently George had the chance to go and speak at The Forge Church, we invite you to listen to his message:  http://www.forgechurch.com/sundaynotes.php

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From a Small Church (UK)

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George and Sheila Green came to visit Hands at Work in Swaziland in 2007. An organic relationship of prayer and support has grown from there with their church, Hands at Work and a small community of women and men caring in Swaziland. Recently George Snyman from Hands at Work was able to visit and encourage their rural church: St John’s in Heath Hayes, Staffordshire, UK.

Below is George Green’s account of their story.

For two years now, our small church in Staffordshire, UK, St John’s Heath Hayes, has supported Hands at Work in Africa, with a particular interest in one community based organisation in Swaziland: Asondle Sive Bomake (ASB). This relationship developed when my wife, Sheila and I visited their community and worked briefly with their coordinator, Nomsa Lukhele.

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Let it Rain (Zam)

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A cool rainy morning is not uncommon in Kabwe, Zambia during amayinsa (rain season). Yet the gloomy sky does not affect the excitement of the hard-working care workers of Shalom HBC from preparing for the activities of the day. The anticipation of this project is great; today 50 children being cared for would be receiving a meal for the first time from the new feeding program. Morning finds eager care workers cleaning the church that will be used to facilitate the program. The work continues even though the rain drizzles down. Everyone knows the grim conditions that many of the innocent orphans face every day. This one meal a day, most likely the only one given, will provide these young vulnerable ones with their daily bread. With this understanding so vividly imprinted on their hearts, the workers together share the load of the day.

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Zambikes Testimonial- Melody (Zam)

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Melody is a 16 year-old orphan living in Magandanyama shanty compound on the outskirts of Kabwe. Her mother, Twas a patient of Makululu Home Based Care until she died on the 23rd of November 2003. At the young age of 11, Melody was left to look after her 2 little sisters and 3 brothers. Although forced to drop out of school to find work in order to survive, the earning was not enough to buy food and other needs.

In January 2007, Melody began selling her body on the street and became deeply involved with friends who were a bad influence on her. But when she became bedridden by TB in 2008, the team of childcare workers from Makululu HBC were  there to support her with visits, helping her with things such as buying charcoal, mealie meal, relish, washing plates, fetching water, cooking her food, and bathing her daily.

In January 2007, Mary began selling her body on the street and became deeply involved with friends who were a bad influence on her. But when she became bedridden by TB in 2008, the team of childcare workers from Makululu HBC were  there to support her with visits, helping her with things such as buying charcoal,

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Barriers (Zam)

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Jessie Monarch is from Kentucky in the US and volunteered with Hands at Work for the last year, serving in South Africa and Zambia.  The following is her account of her first trip to see the work being done in Mulenga, a poor community in Kitwe, Zambia; a work led by James and Sukai Tembo since 2004.

“How many children do you have?” I asked him as we passed through the solid metal gate guarding the entrance to his “mansion.”  I knew he called it that, always following the reference with a carefree laugh, to warn us of the simplicity of his lodgings.

“You will see,” he said with a grin.  In the brief stint of our acquaintance he had used this phrase to answer almost every question I had concerning his work, as if believing to revive the sense of mystery and anticipation so often lost with age and life. 

When we exited the car, he immediately pointed across the yard and a large field to Mulenga.  As he enthusiastically pointed out the house from which the twenty orphans are fed daily amongst the mass and spread of huts far in the distance, we pretended to know exactly which hut he was pointing to.  It didn’t really matter; we knew the beautiful work he was doing there, we knew the beacon of light that house was in the sea of darkness surrounding it and in the lives of the children

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2010 Conference Dates

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In the past we have done two conferences, both in South Africa.  An Africa conference with our African service center partners and an international conference with our African partners and many international churches and donors as well. 

This year instead of having the conferences in just South Africa we will be holding four regional conferences that will be open to anyone interested in attending.  The Hands at Work family is growing at a rapid rate which means that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get everyone to South Africa.  This means we can bring the conferences closer to home for the Service Centres involved, also allowing our international visitors flexibility and possibly allow them to attend in the country of their interest. In the past we have only been able to have a very small number of community based organizations (CBO) representatives present.  By holding regional conferences it will also enable greater CBO participation and give more people exposure to the vision of Hands at Work. 

The conference schedule is as follows:

South Africa & Swaziland | March 24-27 | Hands at Work in Africa near White River, South Africa

Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo & Malawi | April 15-18 | Luanshya, Zambia

Mozambique & Zimbabwe | April 22-25 | TBD

Nigeria | May 20-23 | Lagos, Nigeria

We are excited about the new opportunities that hosting regional conferences will bring.  All are welcome to come and be a part of the different regional conferences.  If you are interested in attending or helping fund the conferences please contact us at info@handsatwork.org. 

View more of last year's conference in photos

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Putting Her Gifts into Practice (Zam)

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Christa Roby—from Chilliwack, British Columbia, in Canada—has been volunteering for Hands at Work in South Africa and in Kabwe, Zambia. A registered massage therapist, Christa had no idea when she applied to volunteer with Hands at Work whether her skills would be useful in Africa, but she came with an open heart to serve.  Since October 2009, Christa has trained volunteer care workers in 12 villages in massage therapy.  Care workers are being empowered when they see the impact they can make in the lives of their sick friends and neighbors with only their hands.  Read more about a home visit Christa made with volunteers from Katondo Home-based Care in Kabwe, Zambia.

“Peter had a stroke in Feb/07 and had lost function of the right side of his body.  I asked Floyd (one of the volunteers) to begin with working on his back while I worked with the right leg.  I showed Floyd how tight Peter’s hamstrings had become and also how to assist them in relaxing.  Peter explained that he is only able to move around on his back.  I was confused, so he took the opportunity to go to the washroom and show me.  From his bed he lied on his back and

Let Us Give (Zam)

 Written by Sheila Mwanza, eighteen years old and a volunteer teacher in Mulenga community school near Kitwe, Zambia.  As Sheila volunteers her time to teach primary school students who cannot afford to attend government schools, she finds herself learning and growing as well.

Moses is 6 years old and is in my class at our community school in Mulenga. Both of his parents are dead. He lives with his grandmother who does not work and is not able to take care of him.  Moses’s parents both died of HIV/AIDS. They left three children, Moses and his two brothers. The other two brothers, one who is blind, live with their uncle. I’m afraid that Moses, the youngest in his family, is also infected with the same disease as his parents, and I would not be surprised if I was told that he has tested HIV+.

Can you imagine a 6 year old child having to start taking ARVs and then be on them for the rest of his life?  Like all of us, this child could not decide for himself into which family he would be born. But God decides in which family we should be born, and does not make mistakes. He puts us into a family of his choice for a purpose.

Join George in Cape Town

Sunday, 18 Oct Tableview Assemblies of God (Services: 8h15, 9h30 & 11h00)

Sunday, 18 Oct Edge Church (Service: 18h00)

Tuesday, 20 Oct Common Good Foundation Insights Evening, Common Ground Café To all interested in HIV and rural social development issues and to all seeking social justice. Arrive between 18h00 and 19h00 for fellowship, cappuccinos and finger food. Guest speaker, George Snyman will begin at 19h00 and we’ll open the floor for questions afterwards.

Thursday, 22 Oct Preferred Future Connect at Life Church, Sea Point (10h00-13h00)

Sunday, 25 Oct Urban Edge (Services: 8h30, 10h30, 18h00)

A Battle for One, Toyota School (DRC)

Katherine Callaghan is a nurse from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  She volunteered in the DRC for one month in April 2009

Stepping onto African soil is something that I’ve always wanted to do at some point in my life.  In April this dream was fulfilled, serving with Hands at Work in the dusty soil of Congo.  My time there in Africa had been challenging and inspiring, a time of restoration and discovering beauty.  

Hands at Work sent me and another volunteer, Dayla, out to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and we had the honor of seeing and sharing in the work that is being done day in and day out. One day during our time in the Congo exemplified this service, so let me share it with you. We were given the opportunity to go to a school run by volunteers of the community based organisation in the city of Likasi called Toyota School.  It had been arranged that we would spend a morning with the children and volunteers, playing games and teaching Bible stories.  The school teaches grades one, two, and three and has over two hundred children from the Toyota community, all of whom are orphans or children in a vulnerable situation. The school is run by volunteers from the community who invest in, build up, and serve these children simply because it is what the Bible says and it is what God has called them to do.

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Advocating for Kennedy (ZAM)

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Kennedy Kashiwa, 14, has faced many obstacles. Following the death of his parents, he and his older sister moved in with their grandmother who had no steady source of income - an uncomfortably common story in the impoverished communities surrounding the city of Kabwe, Zambia where Kennedy lives. But Kennedy has faced more adversity than most. At the age of 7, the young boy fell from a tree and, because there was no money to seek treatment and no access to aid for health purposes, he lost his ability to walk. Kennedy couldn’t attend school for a long time because he had no means of getting there.

Recently, concerned care workers communicated Kennedy’s story to a donor in Canada, Visionledd. Now, Kennedy has been given a wheel chair and can attend school and, though the setbacks have placed him at a grade 4 school level, Kennedy has strong aspirations to complete his education.

Kennedy is regularly visited by local care workers who monitor his health and provide food parcels. The donation of a wheelchair has made an immeasurable difference in Kennedy’s life. Because of the love and encouragement of local care workers, Kennedy has hope once again and dreams of one day visiting specialists to help him walk again.