Areas in Zambia being impacted by Hands at Work

The Crisis + How We Began

Zambia is a peaceful country amid many unstable bordering countries. Compared to many of its neighbours, Zambia has a reputation for a relatively efficient and transparent government. However, for the most vulnerable people living in the poorest communities, many basic essentials are scarce, and families have no choice but to resort to drastic means of survival. With less emphasis placed on education, girls become especially vulnerable.

In 1999, George Snyman, co-founder of Hands at Work, was invited to speak at a church conference in Zambia where he met a local pastor. He saw that him and his wife were trying to care for refugees and AIDs patients but they had no support. George stayed in their house for six weeks and started to implement the model of caring for HIV/AIDs patients in Luanshya. From that time, George visited Zambia regularly. In 2003, George was invited by a Bible College in South Africa to share at an international conference for people who had been called into ministry. During that initial visit, pastors, including some from Zambia, were stirred up to care for the poor instead of simply planting churches. They realised that if they were truly going to represent Christ in a time when people were dying, it was going to require more of them and so they took the vision and ran with it. 

It was out of their conviction that the first Hands at Work Community Based Organisations were birthed in Zambia, several of which have matured and grown into their own organisations. As work in South Africa shifted to caring for orphaned and vulnerable children, so the work in Zambia as shifted to be carrying out that same vision. Slowly, Hands at Work began to grow and expand into communities located in the surrounding areas of Kabwe, Kitwe and Luanshya.

Our Response

As the local church is mobilised in each community to unite and reach out to the most vulnerable, Hands at Work equips them to provide physical, emotional and spiritual support to the children and families they serve. Children are supported through the daily provision of Hands at Work's three essential services of food, education and basic health care provided at the Life Centres within their community. Through regular visits to their homes, Bible teaching and prayer, children come to know that they are loved by Jesus and those who care for them.

MEET Ivonny

Ivonny* is one of the most vulnerable children we care for in Chabota Community, Zambia. For many years, nine-year-old Ivonny and her two brothers lived with both their parents. However, her father did not provide for the family and spent the little money they had on alcohol instead. Recently, he left, leaving Ivonny and her siblings under the care of their mother. Thankfully, the family has support from the Care Workers visiting regularly and Ivonny and her siblings coming to the Life Centre.

Population: 20, 488, 240 

Percentage of people living in extreme poverty: 58%

Number of children (0 to 14) living with HIV/AIDS: 66 000

Number of children (0 to 17) who have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS: 580, 000

Life Expectancy: 64 (F) | 56 (M) 

Country Rating (out of 187) the Human Development Index: 154

– Sources: UNAID, UNDP,  World Poverty Clock

BE INSPIRED BY OTHER STORIES FROM ZAMBIA
Our Calling - Gideon and Ritha Mbuzi
Our Calling - Gideon and Ritha Mbuzi

“Through spending time with Hands at Work, I came to see the greater picture of what was being done and I wanted to be a part of it. My journey with Hands at Work reminds me of where I have come from. I have walked through many challenges similar to the children that we are serving. God has taught me to continue to trust in and hold onto Him because he never fails his people. I have seen how I should be depending on God because God is the only answer.”

Trust the Lord
Trust the Lord

“I’ve done many Maranatha Workshops and been to Chilabula many times and even done one in Chilabula before and not seen the fruit. We needed to depend on God, not on our own knowledge. We prayed for weeks ahead of time. We even delayed the start of the workshop so we could have more time to pray…”

My Calling - Blessings Sambo
My Calling - Blessings Sambo

I had started reaching out to the vulnerable in Mulenga, and it brought me great joy. There was a great fulfilment in my heart. I remember some people started mocking me because they had heard that I wasn’t getting paid. They didn’t know why I would do it for free.

An Urgent Call to Prayer
An Urgent Call to Prayer

Over this past week many areas in Southern Africa have experienced high winds and heavy rainfall particularly Zambia in the Kabwe and Chisamba regions have been hit very hard.

There has been significant damage caused to a number of homes within the communities we serve. In some cases, homes collapsed in the night, leaving families with nowhere to go.

Staying Connected to Africa
Staying Connected to Africa

The two of us who had previously gone to Africa through Hands at Work shared stories of what we might have experienced while there — stories of Holy Home Visits, attending local churches, and building relationships with long-term volunteers. At the end of the two weeks, the team realised that we would have arrived home. We agreed that we did not want to stop meeting.

Meet Rosa
Meet Rosa

When the Care Workers of Chibote community started to notice a line of four younger siblings following Rosa into the Care Point, and then huddled around Rosa’s one plate of food, they realised this was a home that needed visiting to understand more about the family.

My Calling - Michael Mwila
My Calling - Michael Mwila

Through serving and working with different people, I am a changed person. Not just in the communities, but in my family. I am a leader at my church because of the things that I have gone through and now people can trust me. If I was where I had been, than maybe I wouldn’t be alive, but God saved my life. That's why I also want to serve, to give life to other people.

Watchword Reflections 2019
Watchword Reflections 2019

“This year, I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in the two Watchword meetings that were held, first in South Africa and then in Zambia. Despite the passage being the same, what was shared was distinctly different from one another. As such, I learned different lessons from both.”

Our Calling - Lisa and Brian Dalley
Our Calling - Lisa and Brian Dalley

As the years quickly went by, early retirement became an option for us in September 2014. At that point we began to earnestly seek God about what our next steps would be. With many ups and downs, questions, concerns and conversations with our family about this big decision to make, we knew that God was calling us to Africa.

A Vision that Keeps You Coming Back
A Vision that Keeps You Coming Back

I was surprised, moved and thankful for the things that had changed. New additions to the team. New Care Points serving more children than was previously possible. New dreams and imaginative possibilities for partnership with the international church.