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| Children gather to receive their hot meal at the care point in Share, (After hand washing!) |
At the end of our Tuesday , as a team we discussed how it had gone. We each
had our own unique experience of our
time at Hands At Work’s Share (pronounced.
‘Shah-ray) care point, but there were two themes that emerged from the day: Chemistry
and Love.
Share is blessed with a good number of care workers. The
community is very well established and it was clear for all of us to see that
the Hands At Work ‘building block’ of healthy leadership is in full flow. Among
the care workers there was a palpable sense of trust, camaraderie and love.
Part of their welcome to us was to share their time of prayer, praise and
worship before the children arrived. With the use of simple rhythmic naming
games, the worlds between us melted away and we were just one group of people
laughing at ourselves and, with kindliness, one another.
The care workers’ bond is solid and strong. The chemistry
and love in their interaction was given voice with their worship and movement
in their dance - watch a vdie clip
here https://www.flickr.com/photos/115621215@N07/48586803771/in/album-72157710162619462/
This strong team of
women trust one another, encourage one another and care for one another. This
foundation of co-carer chemistry and love overflows into the care for the
children. Here at Share the care workers initiate games with the children,
involving them all in the joy of play. In so doing, they show the children that
they are loved, that they matter, and that they belong to a wider family.
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| Libby helping to stir the pap (maize meal) |
Love is in abundance at Share. As a centre of care, they will
soon be able to stand on their own two feet. It is a huge success story.
Meanwhile, Hands at Work has much more work to do elsewhere in serving the
needs of care, health and security needs of the most vulnerable.
There was a poignant reminder today as to why our being here
still matters. Out at play, a twelve year old girl got chatting to a member of
our team. “Do you like black people?”, came the sudden question from her. The
team member was taken aback but continued to tell her, ‘Yes! Of course!’ and
to assure her that she is loved. It was
deeply upsetting to imagine that the girl had to question such a thing. Yet we
understand why that question is still there. We are here to show love. Skin
colour should not matter. But we know from history and politics that it has
mattered so much here and clearly still does. We are here to do many things,
but most importantly to love – and to show it.