The Story of Susu Community

In 2007, Hands at Work began walking in Susu, a community with high rates of HIV/AIDS and low access to support services like government clinics, hospitals and schools, all of which are too far away for people to access. Though the situation in Susu is desperate, the local volunteer Care Workers are making a great impact, through the support of Hands at Work and partners across the world. Many of the children cared for by the Susu Community Based Organisation (CBO) are also attending the Community School in Susu; started by a local church in 2004. For many years, the school was meeting under some trees but in faith, people from Susu came together and made bricks for the school which was later constructed.

150 Children currently supported

14 Care Workers coordinated by timothy

Basic Services Started in 2011

45 km from the Kabwe Local Office

Currently, the Susu CBO is caring for 150 of the most vulnerable children through the provision of food, education and basic health care. Additionally, the children are visited in their homes by Care Workers who bring practical, emotional and spiritual support which is the foundation of everything Hands at Work does. By visiting the children in their homes, Care Workers are able to build strong relationships of love and trust. Developing strong relationships with the children enables the Care Workers to assess and support each child’s needs and make a plan for how to best care for them.

In the Susu Community, people rely heavily on the land for producing crops and thus earning a living and providing for their families. If there is a poor rainfall, it has the potential to put many people’s lives in jeopardy. Accessing clean water has always been a challenge in Susu, and when streams dry up during the dry months, people are forced to rely solely on dirty water. This increases the spread of water-borne diseases, leading to people becoming severely ill. The local Hands at Work team in Kabwe supported the Susu CBO in constructing a borehole, which will increase the health and hygiene of the most vulnerable children and Care Workers.

A few years ago, efforts were put into an idea for an income generating activity for Care Workers to take ownership of and carry forward to provide more sustainability for them and their families. As a result, they were supported with funds to plant an orange orchard which they use the produce of in their own meals at home as well as sell to buy other necessities for their families. Thankfully, the oranges have grown well!

Within Susu there are two Care Points operating under the umbrella of the Susu CBO. The purpose of having multiple Care Points is to limit the distance that the children have to walk between them and their homes. Since the start of the Susu CBO, Care Point ‘A’ has been located on the same land as the community school. In 2021, a new piece of land was purchased for Care Point ‘A’, which has and will continue to provide opportunities for the growth of the Care Point. Not only that, but it gives the Care Workers and children a place to call their own. Since then, a number of projects have been completed on the new land, including the construction of a Care Point building and new toilets, all enhancing the health and safety of the most vulnerable children. 

Meet Madeline

The lives of Madeline* and her two sisters have tragically been marked by abandonment. Their mother left them when they were young, married another man, and started a completely new life. They live with their father, but he is unable to provide care due to his struggle with alcohol abuse. For a time, a female relative was living with them, but she eventually also left. Thankfully, the Susu CBO has been providing life-saving care for the girls since 2015 – regularly connecting with them through Holy Home Visits, welcoming them daily to the Care Point, and providing a nutritious meal every day which is often their only food. This year, they received new blankets and their home will be repaired. In response to the level of care that the girls need, the Care Workers are striving to visit the family daily. We praise God for the relationships that are being fostered between the children and Care Workers in the communities we serve.

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

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