Curry on Fundraising!

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The restrictions of the last year or so have meant that fundraising has been more complicated to organise than in previous years. But Hannah, a Hands at Work advocate from St Luke’s Church in St Albans, came up with a plan to raise money for Hands at Work by selling tickets to a virtual cooking masterclass where professional chef, Doug Crampton, led people through how to cook a delicious 3-dish Thai meal one Saturday night.

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Impacted by her experiences on previous team visits to South Africa and Eswatini, Hannah shares: “Hands at Work is a charity so close to my heart. The amazing Care Workers in Africa faithfully cook every day for children who wouldn't eat otherwise, often when they themselves have little to eat. But they also sit to eat with them, and offer them a safe place to play, be known, and be loved”.

This online event was a great opportunity to share about Hands at Work, advocating and raising money for some of the most vulnerable children and families across eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Classed as an essential service, Care Points, where children come for food every day, have been able to remain open throughout the pandemic, providing children with much-needed nutrition and love from the Care Workers. 


With messy kitchens, new cooking skills and tasty food to eat at the end of the event, it was a great evening, made even more fun by getting to see how everyone else was doing on Zoom and the accompanying WhatsApp group. 

The total amount raised for Hands at Work came to a fantastic £1,400! 

If you would like any support with fundraising for Hands at Work, or you have a fundraiser that you would like to tell us about, please email becci.leung@uk.handsatwork.org.

Yasmine’s Story

Here at Hands at Work we love to hear people’s stories and today we have a great, inspiring story from the UK to share with you. So grab yourself a cuppa and get comfy as we chat with Yasmine Morson-Mills who, at 19 years old, has set up a business during lock down with her mum, Esther.

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Hi Yasmine! Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi, I’m Yasmine Morson-Mills, I’m 19 years old and I live in Stafford. I finished my A-levels in Summer 2020 and I am currently setting up my own business whilst continuing studies online.

And what’s your connection to Hands at Work?

I first heard about Hands at Work in a school assembly at Wolgarston High School in Penkridge, which is part of the Link for Life Partnership. I desperately wanted to go on the first visit with the school but there was a lot of interest. Three of my friends were picked to go, which was hugely exciting, so I helped them to fundraise and listened to all their experiences, until I was able to go myself in August 2019.

What did you do on your visit in 2019?

We visited the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, which was an incredible experience, and then we headed to the Hands at Work Hub in White River. After settling in, we visited Care Points from Monday to Friday. We visited the communities of Mafambisa, Share and Zwelisha, as well as attending the morning meetings at the Hub, including ladies’ prayer. On the last weekend we visited Kruger National Park and Kaapsehoop.

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How did this trip to South Africa impact you?

The trip I took to South Africa massively impacted me and my whole future. The drastic differences between our ways of life changed the way I look and feel about a lot of things. For example, I think about a little girl at Mafambisa who watched me write with a pen and she commented, saying how beautiful my pen was. It drastically impacted the way I thought. Such a simple object in my life was a treasure to her, which was extremely difficult to accept.

Is there a particular family or child who you met on your visit who has stayed with you?

A particular story of a child who impacted me was of a little girl named Thobile* from Mafambisa. Towards the end of the day on our second visit to Mafambisa, a little girl came up to us and started playing. Although she was very shy at first, she ended up playing with our hair and sitting with us, and it really stood out to me. On our last visit to Mafambisa (the next day) we were making Holy Home Visits and Trudie, a member of my team, and I went with Prudence and Melody, two Hands at Work volunteers, on a long walk – and it was to Thobile’s house! I couldn’t believe that we were going to the home of the little girl who had made such an impact on me the day before. Her house was right on the edge of the community, a good half an hour’s walk from the Care Point, which this little girl walked alone. Thobile lives with her aunt and other family members and they all share a hut made out of corrugated metal sheets leaning up against one another, one of the worst buildings I saw on my home visits. We spent a long time chatting to Thobile’s aunt about their situation, and learnt that they were refugees from Mozambique. We walked back with Thobile to the Care Point where she would receive a hot meal, and spent the rest of the day with her.

What are you doing now?

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As well as continuing to advocate for Hands at Work at events and churches, during lockdown my mum and I set up a business selling ethically sourced tea and coffee called The Tea Bees. We have included Hands at Work in the business in many ways, such as through social media, blogs on our website, and fundraisers. We also have a unique code for anyone involved with Link for Life and Hands at Work to use at the checkout that gives 10% of that purchase back to Hands at Work. I wanted to include Hands at Work in the business because I really want to continue my support towards them as well as advocate to our customers by sharing my support and stories.

I am also a part of the Link for Life group, which holds meetings to organise fundraising, events, and to share updates from Africa. We support one another to advocate for the children and families cared for by Hands at Work.

This sounds great. Where can we find out a bit more about The Tea Bees?

We have an Instagram page called @Theteabeesuk and our website is www.theteabees.com

What’s next for you?

When it’s possible, I hope to return to South Africa for an extended time. I will continue advocating for Hands at Work through my business as well as in my everyday life.

Thank you for chatting to us, Yasmine, and for all that you do for Hands at Work. Wishing you all the best with The Tea Bees!

 

*child’s name changed

Hands at Work UK is supporting a new community!

Waiting in line at Chinyausunzi Community, Zimbabwe

Waiting in line at Chinyausunzi Community, Zimbabwe

Chinyausunzi can be found within the greater community of Sakubva, in the town of Mutare in the east of Zimbabwe, close to the Mozambique border. The many one-roomed homes in this community were originally built for migrant industrial workers but now house multiple generations of families, leading to massive overcrowding and very poor sanitation. Extremely high levels of unemployment and high rates of HIV/AIDS, TB and infection within Chinyausunzi have a devastating impact on the thousands of families who can barely afford food for a single day, let alone clinic fees.

The Chinyausunzi CBO was started in 2016, after Care Workers from the nearby, existing Sakubva CBO realised that some of the children were walking long distances to get to the Care Point. Chinyausunzi was established on the other side of the community and now cares for 150 of the most vulnerable children, led by Care Worker Florence.

Although Hands at Work in Africa has been in Zimbabwe for many years, this is a new country for Hands at Work UK to be partnering with and we are looking forward to bringing you more news and updates from Chinyausunzi in the new year.

Footloose and Fundraising

After plans for a silent disco were scuppered due to lockdown restrictions, the children's ministry team at Woodlands got creative and came up with the idea of an hour-long sponsored dance session on Zoom.
Imagine a great playlist, some follow-along dances led by professionals, throw in a game of musical statues and you get the idea.

Hands at Work UK Young Adult Weekend Away 2019

At the end of November, we spent a very cold and foggy weekend at a retreat in the West Midlands with 13 young people from across the UK who had previously been out to Africa on teams with Hands at Work.

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Team members are often really impacted by what they’ve seen and experienced in Africa and return home and are not sure what to do next. The culture in the UK can offer many challenges to these young people. How do they live out how they’ve been impacted by Africa in their own culture and contexts? We discussed, explored and reflected on this topic with voices from our international Hands family encouraging us throughout the weekend.

The young adults dug deep and showed a deep understanding of Hands and the nine commitments – in particular ‘denying our culture’. The final activity on the weekend was to write one personal goal and one goal for the group to make sure we put actions to the things we had discussed.

It was a great weekend and the beginning of an emerging community of young people who are passionate about serving the most vulnerable in Africa, and in the UK too. We hope to run another weekend in 2020 so watch this space.

Given's story

Given's story

When Given* was three years old, her parents divorced. Given’s mother then took her five children to live with their grandmother. Sadly, life continued to be a struggle and providing the most basic necessities was a challenge. Eventually, Given’s mother, overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring and providing for her children, ran away, leaving her children under the care of their ageing grandmother.

Abel Dreams of What the Future will Hold

Abel* is 15 years old and has never known his parents.  Abandoned as a baby, he was left on a railway track, helpless and alone. By the grace of God, an older couple, the Bandas, found Abel and took him into their home, where he has lived ever since.  Although they were kind enough to rescue Abel, the Bandas themselves live in extreme poverty and have had difficulty in providing for all of the household's needs.

Africa's drought- making it personal

Last Friday we had the monthly Hands on Deck meeting here at the hub. This is when news and updates from individuals and communities are shared. George had just returned from a brief trip to the new communities Hands is supporting in Swaziland. The drought has hit these communities very badly, with many children forced to drink water from a stagnant pool where cattle also drink.

Lunch arrangements for the Hands at Work gathering

We are all really excited that It's now under a week until our Hands at Work gathering. We will be meeting at St. Luke's Church, St Albans on the 28th November 10am-4pm. Before Saturday we ask that you do two things:

Firstly, lunch...
Firstly, we are planning on doing a bring and share lunch. Can we ask that you all bring a sweet or savoury dish to share please.

Secondly, please RSVP...
Secondly if you haven't already can you RSVP using the link below.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hands-at-work-uk-gathering-2…

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Two weeks to go until our Hands at Work gathering

 We are really looking forward to seeing you all there.

Firstly can we ask a favour...

If you know anyone who you think this event might be of interest to, please do invite them.

Secondly, please RSVP...
Although it's an informal event and you don't need to pre-book your seat, it's still really helpful for our planning to know rough numbers. Could you please take 10 minutes to let us know how many will be coming in your group by registering for the event on the link below:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hands-at-work-uk-gathering-2015-tickets-19549693660

Hands at Work gathering on the 28th November 2015

Exciting news! On Saturday 28th November from 10am until around 4pm you are invited to a Hands at Work gathering.

It will be hosted in St Albans (it's the same location as last year if you came.)

Map here: 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/St+Lukes+Church/@51.7455056,-0.3171659,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x48763eea2f089937:0xaae0bf70e6e99542

The format will be a bit different to last year but will cover:

What's happened in Africa this year

What's happened in the UK this year, including progress against 1,2,3,4

A chance to learn more about Partnerships and how we want these to develop.

A look ahead to the challenges set for 2016.

In the afternoon we plan to run informal workshop sessions for those interested in:
Volunteering in Africa for a year - or those who might want to challenge a friend or family member to step out.
Those leading a team or going on team visits
Probably one on partnership for those who are looking to help their partnership go deeper or are interested in a new partnership.

We're relaxed on the details, particularly the workshops. We'll respond to the needs of people attending to make sure it's valuable.

We'll also sing, pray and enjoy some good coffee and excellent cakes.

If none of the Hands stuff appeals, then come for the cakes!

We'll send some more information out as we run up to the event. In the meantime can I please ask you to extend personal invites to people you know who this might appeal to.