A day to think, reflect and review - Thursday 27 February

 Debrief Day: A chance to think  and reflect -Thursday 27 February

After so many days which have been busy and full of activity, today gave the team a chance to stop and think about all that we have seen, heard and experienced.

In the morning we met with some of the Hands at Work staff who have accompanied and supported us on the visits we have made to the different communities which are supported by Hands at Work in Africa.

Everyone had the chance to ask questions of the Hands at Work team members to clarify anything which we had found confusing or concerning.  

Some of the Hands at Work in Africa Team who have been supporting us during our visits to the community.
Left to Right... Audres, Virginia, Loneck, Prudence and Eunice

We were encouraged to really think about what we had seen and experienced so that we would be able to make the most of the visit.  We were also invited to think about what we could each do to speak up for the needs of the people we had met, also let others know about the remarkable work which Hands at Work are doing, so that they can support the charity if they wish to.

After lunch we were able to visit a local craft centre to look for souvenirs and gifts before returning to Hands at Work to record some videos to be used in school assemblies and other report-back events.  

Everyone was then given the opportunity to write a further contribution to the the blog, about people at Hands at Work whose situation has really impacted us.  Some of these stories are below...

Eleanor writes...
One of the stories that stuck with me the most was the story about Mama Catherine and her family. She lives in a small house with her daughter, son and grandson who are confined to a very tight space.

Unfortunately her husband offers no support to the family and doesn't have a job, he often leaves the house for large periods of time without letting anyone know when he's coming back. This causes a lot of the distress to the family, as he often comes back drunk or high from substance abuse. Catherine always seems disheartened and sad which is why it is so important that Hands at Work are able to help the family and Catherine. 

-Eleanor Cowing

 

Jess writes...

The story that impacted me the most was about a lady who was a sex-worker, she had been living in dangerous conditions with her six hear old daughter, Emily, and as a result, Hands at Work had persuaded her that the child would be safer and better cared for by another person. She had wanted to keep her daughter with her but unfortunately, for Emily, it was really not safe. Emily was placed into a home with a loving Gogo, but not long after, the Gogo passed away and so the daughter had to be moved again.

Emily was then placed into a home with another Gogo who was also simultaneously caring for her own children and grandchildren as well. The Gogo took the child in on the condition that she would have her costs paid for by the mother.

The mother continued paying until she suddenly just stopped. Hands at Work are involved in trying to find the mother, but in the meantime, the Gogo does not want the child in her care as she is struggling to pay for her food and water for her own children as well as Emily. Hands at Work are doing everything they can to support the child until a permanent arrangement can be found.

-Jess Parton

 

Isabelle writes...

One of the remaining stories we can share on our last days is that of a 10 year old girl, youngest of four siblings.

Her older sister (17) has taken the responsibility of being a maternal figure to her sisters as their mother neglected them and left the family to be with her boyfriend, this also results in no income for the family. Sometimes the mother will return for brief periods of time however this creates instability, so Hands at Work invest a lot into creating relationships with the sisters that they don't receive from their mother.

-Isabelle Munnelly

We have changed the names of the individuals in the stories above to preserve their anonymity.  Each story shows a different view of the brokenness of the communities in which Hands at Work are operating.  It is easy for us to criticise the adults who walk away from parental responsibility, or treat their families so poorly... but we often don't know the whole story and when life is so hard many people are in real desperation and cannot cope.  The reasons why a community can become so broken are complex, but Hands at Work are not afraid of difficulties or challenges and they make a huge difference to the lives of children and families living on the edge.

We will be putting together some feedback events for the wider community when we return to the UK and we hope that, if you have enjoyed following this blog, you will be able to come along to hear more about the visit at one of these events.

The first one arranged will be on Sunday 6 April at 7pm.  We hope that we will be able to hold this at St Michael's Church in Penkridge, but this is yet to be confirmed.

If you would like to find out more about the work of Hands at Work in Africa then you can contact info@uk.handsatwork.org or visit handsatwork.org

You can find out more about supporting link for life by contacting us via our Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/linkforlifeproject.   If you would like to donate to support the work of Link for Life Project, linking young people in our area with communities in southern Africa then please visit https://www.stewardship.org.uk/pages/linkforlife2025

Thanks for following us and supporting the 2025 on our remarkable visit to South Africa.  We will keep you posted as we continue our journey home which begins tomorrow, 28 February.

Care Worker Appreciation Day in Mafambisa - Wednesday 26 February

Care Worker Appreciation Day in Mafambisa

Today was the team's last day to visit the Care Point in Mafambisa.  Over recent days the team had witnessed some of the remarkable care and love which is offered by the volunteer Care Workers to the most vulnerable children in the community of Mafambisa.  So we were glad to have the opportunity to day to offer some care, love and affirmation to the Care Workers themselves

Isabelle Munnelly writes...  
Today, the team held a Care Worker Appreciation Day. This involved the team providing activities and treats for the Care Worker and this included things like nail painting, foot-washing, foot/hand massages, bracelet making and prayer sessions. This gave the Care Workers the rare opportunity to spend time relaxing with each other whilst enjoying some snacks. (You might think of it as a bit of a 'spa day' for them).  Additionally, it allowed us to show our gratitude for the welcoming environment they have created and the welcome they have extended to us.  Their special day was rounded off with a photo-shoot from Mr Leonard, who had brought a Polaroid camera which gave them an instant photo... which they loved.

We had been given toiletries by friends and supporters at home (Thank you for these items!)  and used them to make small gift bags for each care worker for them to take home, along with with a card for each of them which all the team had signed.  For the rest of the day we cherished the final moments we had the the children, eventually saying our final goodbyes and heading away.
Isabelle Munnelly

The Care Point feeding programme still took place today, so the children still had their meal, but it was cooked by some of the Hands at Work Service Team.  Their normal role is to support the Care Workers in a number of different communities, but just for today, several of them came to Mafambisa to free up the Care Workers  so that they could enjoy their Appreciation Day.

After the appreciation activities, we were able to share a meal with the children and enjoy some final games.  

All the team were sad to leave the children at the Care Point and it was difficult to say goodbye, not just because of language problems... We now have a fuller knowledge of some of the struggles which all the children face.  Knowing that they return to such difficult lives as they leave the Care Point is hard, but it is comforting for us to know that they are being wonderfully looked after at the Care Point by the Care Workers we have tried to thank and appreciate today.

Richard Westwood
On behalf of the team 

A hot day at the Care Point in Mafambisa - Tuesday 25 February

 Tuesday 25 February - A hot day at Mafambisa Care Point

Alongside the Holy home Visits today ( see below) it was a busy day the Care Point.  We arrived and were greeted by the Care Workers and we soon found out that there was a problem with the large water container (a 'JoJo') which is used for all cooking, drinking and washing at the Care Point.  A leak had developed and the precious water was being lost.  Conversations were had with neighbours and a loan was arranged for a new spare one for the Care Point... but it had to be transferred over a fence... watch what happened...

Once the JoJo was in it's new place, we then needed to transfer the water from the leaking old container to the new larger one...Mr Leonard to the rescue!

The new water container works!

After all this drama and activity the walk to the Holy Home Visits was peaceful - but with the temperature around 28C in the shade and very little wind, it felt super hot, but some of the team needed to go on Holy Home Visits...

Stella writes...
Today me and Richard met a woman on our Holy Home visit called Jemima. Our walk consisted of several rocky hills and stretches of areas with no shade- it was about a 45-minute walk from the Mafambisa Care Point. When we arrived at the home, only Jemima was present seeing as her three younger children were at school. Her eldest son worked at a local tavern, which meant he only arrived home in the early hours of the morning to quickly sleep before leaving again. In the home there were three boys (two of whom were twin boys aged 15) and one younger girl, (who is her granddaughter)  who was 8 called Constance. The youngest three of these children all attended the Care Point regularly.

 Jemima had repeatedly expressed her concern for her children growing up. When asked if she had any special prayer request, all she wished for was that they focused on their studies and made a life for themselves outside of her care. Hands At Work had also been involved in helping Jemima with her children’s paperwork; now that they have the proper legal South African documents, they can sit their exam equivalent of our GCSEs, allowing them to have better jobs when they’re older. Part of Jemima’s concern, especially for Constance, is linked to her upbringing. Her dad in Mozambique had pulled her out of school at a young age to maintain the fields on his farm.

 Thanks to both Jemima and Hands at Works’ effort, the future for the household we visited is beginning to show hope and good fortune.
Stella Richards

Eleanor writes...

Today, Tony and I went to visit a single mother called Stephanie who had three children: two daughters and a son... Clarissa who is 10, Theresa who is 8 and Gift who is 5. When we arrived, Stephanie told us her heart-breaking story of her past where she was kidnapped from her mother by her biological father after growing up with her stepfather who she saw as her caring and loving father. We inferred that the father was jealous of the new and happy family that the mother had rebuilt and wanted to take that away from Stephanie. She is doing piece-work, (informal/casual labour) but it only pays her £25 a month  and that's all she has to feed her whole family. The house they own is rent free if she looks after the house and takes care of the area around it.  Stephanie has not had contact with her mother since the birth of her first child we could tell that she is deeply missing her mother.  Tony and I are hoping that Hands will help her reconnect and contact her mother to tell her that they are all okay and she now has three kids. We hope in the future that their situation improves, and Stephanie can speak to her mother.
Eleanor Cowing
 

Erin writes...
Today, Isabelle, Eve, Molly and I went on home visit to Joyce’s home where she lives with two of her four children along with her husband, who is the Dad to their youngest, Martha. The eldest three children and the mother do not have South African papers but the Dad does and so does Martha. However, due to corruption they do not receive support from the government through grants for any of the children. The husband wants to move to Mozambique and to sell the house but Joyce does not want to move back over there. However, the husband could take Martha with him which would leave Joyce in an vulnerable situation as he owns the house and controls the money. Hands at work are helping the family, with the children attending the care house and looking into housing options for Joyce. 
Erin Price

After returning from the home visits some of us played with the children whilst others helped with preparing the meal.   We had been given some books from St Leonard's School in Dunston to pass on to the children at the Care Point, as well as some cards from Chasetown Community School and posters from Wolgarston students.  We tried hard to pass them on in an orderly way... but there was such a great deal of excitement and a kind of lovely chaos emerged, with some very excited children taking delight in the gifts they were being given.

It was moving to see something interesting and simple bringing such joy to  the children at the Care Point

Shortly after this we had a very heavy rain storm and we made a dash to the mini bus to go back to the Hands at Work hub.

We have been making some mini videos of the things that each day of our visit has involved. They are usually less then 2  minutes long and some are just a few second.  If you would like to take a look you can find them here...  https://www.youtube.com/@Link4LifeSA/videos 

Richard Westwood

The community of Mluti - 24 February

The team went today to community of Mluti, which is part-way between the town of White River and the City of Mbombela .  Mluti is an urban area with a lot of social problems and Hands at Work in Africa have been working to support the Care Point at Mluti for several years.  There are a committed team of volunteer Care Workers who look after, feed and visit most vulnerable children in their community of Mluti.

After the customary greetings from the Care Workers we were invited to help prepare some of the food which everyone would eat later in the day.  Several members of our team helped with this , but Stella and Molly got the messiest of jobs... grating two large bags of beetroot!  Happily all the red stains have now come out!

After food preparation some of the team were able to join some of the Care Workers on their Holy Home Visits.   Isabelle and Eleanor pick up their part of the story from here...

Today we did a home visit at Mluti. This involved a walk down into the valley in which Mluti is situated and crossing the stream at the bottom...

The family we visited consisted of a single father, two children and a Gogo. When we first arrived there appeared to be nobody home, however after some phone calls we where informed the father would soon be returning after doing some piecework*. (*Piece work is the term used for casual labour)  Eunice explained that both the father and younger son where sick and currently had to go to clinics to receive medication, alongside the father’s other health problems he struggled in trying to convince his son to keep taking his medication. The Gogo (grandmother figure) had received money in order to buy food and essentials for the family, however, she spent had it on drugs. This conveyed the difficulty of the situation the family are in and possibly the impact on the children, for example the youngest son was skipping school often and the father wasn’t sure why. The care-point in Mluti are helping out the family by donating any leftovers from the daily meal that is cooked there to the family so they have some source of food for the day.
-Eleanor Cowing and Isabelle Munnelly

After returning to the Care Point we were able to play with the children, help to serve the food and enjoy eating it with them. 

 Despite the fun and laughter at the Care Point the team were aware of the huge challenges which the children face on a daily basis.  Many of them are children of parents who are originally from Mozambique, and even though the children were born in South Africa who do not have birth documents- and so cannot have the rights of citizenship (including child benefit payments, and the right to take their end of school exams).  Many of the children may grow up to be 'non-citizens' without documentation and any qualifications.   Hands at Work operates in communities like Mluti amongst the poorest of the poor, who may not have hope.  A key part of Hands at Work operation is to try to speak up for the needs of these children and help them to acquire citizenship rights if they are able to. 

On behalf of the team... Richard Westwood

A weekend to rest - and see some sights of South Africa - Sat 22 & Sun 23 February

 Saturday 22 February - Kruger National Park

Eve writes...

Today we went to Kruger Park. We started off our day with an early start at 4am and were on the road for 5am finally arriving at Kruger at 6 am. we spent the day spent the first half our break searching for animals and finding wildebeest, zebras , giraffes and impalas then at half 10 we had a half hour break and brought a milkshake. 


Then we continued looking at animals till a 2 o'clock lunch.

On our last stretch we saw tortoises and warthogs. At around 5 we left and went home to cook pizza for tea.

-Eve Crutchley

Sunday 23 February- Blyde River Canyon

Eleanor writes...

Today we went to a variety of tourist points including; Blyde River Canyon, Bourke’s Luck Potholes and God’s window. We made sure to take lots of photos of the beautiful scenery around us when we were at the canyon as the clouds were quite low which gave a dramatic

background with the mountains.

The potholes we saw had waterfalls and rivers running through them and we were able to explore the rocks around the river a bit before heading over to God’s Window.

Unfortunately because the clouds were so low it would’ve been to difficult to see, so we had to move on to our delicious meal at Harrie’s Pancakes. The variety of sweet and savoury pancakes made sure that everybody had something they liked and wanted to eat. I had a cinnamon and sugar pancake which was delicious and very filling!

On our way round to the different places we got to see peoples market stalls with some amazing wooden creatures, bracelets and so much more. Some of us even had a go at a bit of haggling to get a better price.

We got back tonight and had some time to relax before enjoying our pizzas together!
Eleanor Cowing

A long and lovely day at the Kruger National Park Sat 22 Feb 2025

The team was up at 4am today and on the road by 5am to get a good start in a day in the Kruger National Park. We drove about an hour to get from our accommodation at Hands at Work to the park gate we had chosen as our entrance.

We have a lovely, long day and we're glad to get back as it turned dark at about 6.30pm and enjoy some pizza, freshen up and rest! The team are pretty worn out after such a long day so please excuse a short output for now.

We saw lots of wildlife and there will be more details tomorrow and we will write a full report on both our 'rest' days after we return from our Sunday excursion to the Blyde River Canyon.

In the meantime, please have a look at a couple of the many photos we took today...  There will be more to share in good time 

Best wishes

On behalf of all the team...

Richard Westwood