How Hands at Work are developing young male role models in African communities
“One of the issues in a lot of the communities, is the lack of good male role models. Many of the care workers are strong women (particularly in South Africa and Swaziland).
We want to share the story of how Hands at Work are investing in young men to help build these community Hubs.
Hands at Work have known a young man we’ll call Daniel* for a while now. Daniel is from the community of Sommerset (sic), South Africa. We stayed at his house on one of our trips out there in 2016.
Back then, Daniel was finding school very challenging. To be able to get any kind of decent job, students have to pass their matriculation.
When we met Daniel, he was already re-doing a year. By the end of that year, he failed his matric again. So, he could either continue re-doing the year again, until he passed, or quit, living with the failure.
In the sort of communities where he was living, there are lots of temptations, such as buying cheap beer. There was a genuine possibility of him getting involved in various criminal activities. There was a real chance of him wasting his life away.
Hands at Work has been very aware of Daniel’s situation. They have been intentional and proactive in their response to young men like Daniel.
Hands identified four young men including Daniel as potential leaders within their communities. Hands at Work have committed to investing in them.
Each of these young men come from broken paths. They are desperate for love, encouragement and affirmation.
The ways that Hands has done this is by way of the three H’s:
- The Head – Addressing issues of the head. Challenging the young men about the choices they make. Encouraging them in the making of good choices.
- The Heart – Getting to the heart of the issue. Helping them find the healing and wholeness by introducing them to Jesus Christ. They want to see this help transform and renew their lives.
- The Hands – Helping develop them in skills that could be the key to employment in the future. Encouraging them to become servant leaders.
This programme is being used in many of the countries in Africa in which we work.”
Pray for Hands:
- For young men to become role models and leaders in the communities where Hands at Work are.
- For the young men to adopt servant hearts.
David & Jane Newsome, Joint National Coordinators (UK) for Hands at Work in Africa
*Not real name
