PARTNERSHIP
Hands at Work UK Office
“They didn’t want to just talk – they wanted to act.
That decision shaped our church’s future.”
Thank you for your interest in our work. We are excited to explore with you what a Partnership with us might look like!
As the HIV/AIDS pandemic devastated communities across Africa, leaving millions of children orphaned, a vital question arose: Who will care for the children left behind? In response, Hands at Work began to challenge and mobilise the local church through mentorship and teaching to fulfil the Biblical call to care for the poor, and to model the vision of Christ’s way of servanthood and unity. Faithful men and women rose to this challenge – stepping into brokenness with love, bringing hope to the most vulnerable children in their own communities, and feeling empowered to build resilience in their communities.
The vision of Hands at Work to mobilise the Church did not stop there, however. Churches across the world began to understand and accept their own mandate to care and joined with communities in Africa in bringing this message of hope. As the global Church united in this shared vision of caring, they became a gift to one another through lives of service, and both were transformed in the process. Today, this two-way transformation can be seen right across Africa and the world: God’s people united in their commitment to Christ and to the coming of God’s Kingdom.
Hands at Work in Africa invites you to be a part of this story. See what Partnership with Hands at Work looks like and how you can join us in serving the poor and building the Kingdom of God together.
What is a Partnership with Hands at Work?
“... so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.”
We believe God has created this world to be interdependent and that God relies on the Church to unite in bringing hope and healing to the vulnerable, in Africa and in our own communities. The primary goal of a Partnership is to build a relationship between a church or other group of people outside Africa and the vulnerable families and children being served on the ground.
Typically, Hands at Work partners a church or other organisation in the UK with a community in Africa, to Advocate, Pray, Give, Come & Replicate.
What do Partners do?
Advocate
“Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all... Stand up for the poor and destitute!”
We believe God has given us a voice in order to speak on behalf of others who can’t. Jesus is our Advocate, constantly speaking to the Father on our behalf. In the same way, we can be Advocates, telling the stories of children and vulnerable families known to us and sharing the transformation that is happening in the lives of the vulnerable, rejoicing together and growing in faith in God’s redemptive work among the broken. The role of an Advocate is crucial to a Partnership with Hands at Work. The Advocate, or team of Advocates, takes responsibility for the Partnership, fostering the relationship and Partnership goals, and facilitates communication as the relationship grows.
PRay
“Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no-one falls behind or drops out.”
Partners commit to praying for children and their families, and Care Workers, by name, as well as the ministry of Hands at Work. Our work and the families we serve are fragile, which means our ministry is reliant upon God’s strength and intervention.
Give
“Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.”
Partners are encouraged to support as many children as are within their means. There may also be opportunities to support particular projects within your Partner community.
Come
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news.”
Gather members of your church, school or other group to visit and encourage a community in Africa. Care Workers are better supported and turnover is lower when they are infused with encouragement from the outside. Team members, in turn, step outside their comfort zones in a new context and form personal relationships with the poor. Participants are grown and challenged in their own faith, seeing the faithfulness and servant-heartedness of the Care Workers daily caring for the vulnerable in their community.
REPLICATE
“Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. ”
Hands at Work in Africa seeks to be a prophetic voice to the church outside of Africa. How do we live out the Hands at Work model in our own community? Do what the Care Workers do, follow in their footsteps and ask the questions: Who is most vulnerable around me? Is there someone I could visit, listen to, and care for with love and humility?
You can also volunteer with your local Hands at Work office or explore opportunities to serve long-term in Africa.
Partnership Stories
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In January 2016, one of our Assistant Heads mentioned there was an opportunity to visit South Africa with a group organised by Link for Life. Curious, and assuming many others would be interested, I registered — only to find out weeks later that I was the only one. And so, I was going to South Africa!
Link for Life had contacted the school partly because Richard Westwood, a former chemistry teacher and the head of the charity, had once worked here. I was invited to a preparation meeting and the school gave me time off to take part, with the hope of exploring whether a partnership with Hands at Work could become part of our wider school life.
Wolgarston High School had long been active locally, but wanted to engage more globally. That first trip in July 2016 confirmed that this was the right link for us. I returned and immediately began planning for a student team to go out the following February. Despite the tight turnaround and fundraising challenges, we were able to take a group of students in early 2017, supported by very enthusiastic families.
Before we left, we worried the students might be too young to cope with what they’d see. But every single one of them was absolutely fantastic and the visit was a huge success.
During that trip, we visited Siyathuthuka Care Point, which later became Mafambisa, and following discussions with Hands at Work this became the community that we partnered with. Since that visit we have taken five more school teams and have witnessed its growth. From a basic wooden shack with no running water, the Care Point now has a permanent cooking shelter, covered gathering space, toilets, a water tank, and secure storage. And through it all, the Care Workers — including Khetiwhe, Dudu, Virginia, Maria and Precious — have shown unwavering commitment, even after the loss of beloved Rose.
At Wolgarston, our partnership with Mafambisa is firmly embedded in our lives. We have displays sharing information with our students, as well as videos and assemblies that we share following our visits. Our link with Mafambisa was even front and centre of our last Ofsted inspection report, because the inspectors could see how important the link was to us and our commitment to it. Each year we have a Diversity Day, to help our students find out about other cultures. We always include Mafambisa in this by doing fingerprinting with our Year 9 students so they can get to know a bit more about Mafambisa at the same time as creating something we can give to the children in Mafambisa as a token of our friendship. Even students who can’t join the trips are connected — Year 10 students engage through talks from Hands at Work, and Zoom calls with the Hub or Care Point are often the highlight of their year.
Every year, we raise funds for both visible improvements, like shelters and toilets, and the less visible but vital needs — ingredients for meals, clinic visits, or even a lock on a door so that a child has a safe space to sleep.
Wolgarston High School is committed to our partnership with Mafambisa. We look forward to the day the community is ready to graduate, and we’re proud to walk alongside them until then.
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St Andrew’s, Biggleswade, first connected with Hands at Work in the early 2010s through the initiative of our eldest youth group, who decided they wanted to do something more than just meet and talk. We invited DJ, a former long-term volunteer with Hands at Work, to share his experience.
The group was totally inspired by what they heard and committed to forming a team to visit Hands at Work. They spent the next two years fundraising and made their visit in 2015.
The visit was life-changing for many of those who went and on their return the team shared the visit had affected them with the whole church. They quickly followed this up with a proposal to the PCC to form an ongoing partnership with Hands at Work.
It was a timely suggestion as the church had been seeking a long-term mission focus, rather than supporting different charities each year.
In 2016 the PCC entered into partnership with the Siyathuthuka Care Point (now known as Mafambisa), committing initially to three years of support. That commitment has since been renewed three times. Each year (except during the Covid years), St Andrew’s has sent out teams to support Mafambisa as well as visit other Care Points.