The Story of Chilando Community

The community of Chilando is located off a dirt road – about 18 km from the main road. To survive, people depend on farming during the rainy months and making charcoal in the winter months. To receive treatment for even the simplest medical problems, people must walk 16 km to the nearest clinic. Although there is a community school that has been slowly developing, and the government has sent some teachers, the school only goes up to grade six. Children who are in grade seven and above have to walk upwards of 14 km to get to school. Compounding these challenges are the strongholds that exist within Chilando such as the belief in witchcraft and traditional healers, alcohol abuse, and early childhood marriage.

50 Children currently supported

Basic Services Started in 2025 

65 km from the Kabwe Local Office

The local Hands at Work team in Kabwe heard about the situation in Chilando from Belwick, a Care Worker in Malakota – another community where Hands at Work is serving in the Kabwe region. In 2023, with support from the Zambian Regional Support Team, the Kabwe team began walking in Chilando, getting to know the needs of the community and connecting with the community chiefs and local stakeholders.

Understanding that the vision of Hands at Work is to mobilise the local church and equip them to care for the most vulnerable, the work in Chilando started with gathering local church leaders for a church mobilisation workshop in 2024. The purpose of the workshop was to share the vision of Hands at Work - who we are and what we do. From there, the Kabwe team continued visiting the community to build upon their relationships with the church leaders, meet other community stakeholders and visit three of the local churches. Out of the church mobilisation, the local pastors identified people from their churches who have a heart to serve, and these individuals became the first Care Workers in Chilando.  

In March 2025, the Kabwe team led a Foundations Training for the Care Workers, introducing Hands at Work’s vision and model, and explaining how to assess and identify the most vulnerable children. As part of the training, the Kabwe team and Care Workers visited families in the community to carry out assessments. The children identified as most in need were then invited to attend the Care Point, where the Chilando Community Based Organisation (CBO) officially began serving them in April 2025. Today, 50 children are being cared for at Chilando.

Currently, the Care Point is being operated from one of the community leader’s homes, but the Chilando CBO has been given a piece of land by the chief. Toilets have just been built on the site, with further plans to develop the plot in the future.

The local Hands at Work team in Kabwe 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 Chilando. It also gives administrative support, including helping with funding proposals, monitoring and evaluation, bookkeeping and reporting to donors. 

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