Thursday - Holy Home Visits - Pfunani

​Holy Home Visit 1 (Ben, Freya and Jack) 

After a lovely, inspiring relationship group, Jack, Freya and I went out for our Holy Home Visit. On our way to the home we were told that we would be visiting one of the most vulnerable families in the community. We were told that the people living there were Gogo, mother, 7 grandchildren and one of their girlfriends.  

As we arrive at the house, the Gogo was away doing some piece work at the school. Therefore we spoke to the mother and her eldest son who had finished school last year. The Gogo is the only person in the family who earns any sort of income which is 500 rand (approximately £25) a month. Two of the teenage boys in the family had run away from the home and gone to initiation camp which will cost the family in excess of 1500 rand to get each child back. 

The Gogo was the only one with South African papers, however they are “non-citizen” meaning it is not easy to get the mother her papers. We learned they would need to go to Nelspruit (approximately 3 hour drive) to try and sort the papers out which is difficult with little to no money. 

We were also notified and asked to pray for the Gogo as she was struggling with a painful leg. As this is one of the most vulnerable families with early malnourished children, Hands provide specifically for this family, giving them breakfast and dinner to go alongside their meal at the Care Point. Before leaving, we prayed together about the safety of the children, the health of the Gogo, for the mother to get her South African papers and some more, stable sources of income.

Blogged by Ben 

Holy Home Visit 2 (Alice, Carolyn and John) 

Today’s journey was one of both hardship and hope. Together with John, Alice, Tembi, and Selina, we set out along dusty tracks under the blazing African sun. The heat pressed down on us, but our purpose carried us forward a holy home visit to a family whose resilience is as strong as their struggles.

The home we reached belonged to a mother of eight children and two grandchildren. Her husband passed away eight years ago, leaving her to shoulder the weight of survival alone. Their story is marked by displacement, fleeing Mozambique in 2010 with three children, they arrived without papers, and to this day, that absence shadows their lives.

The family lives in a three-roomed building, unfinished since the father’s passing. Rainwater leaks through the roof, a constant reminder of fragility. One daughter manages to earn a little through piece work, but the rest depend on what little the land provides. Vegetables grow in abundance, yet without staples to accompany them, meals remain incomplete.

Chickens roamed freely as children darted in and out of the house. Two little ones settled on a colorful mat their mother had woven a symbol of her creativity and quiet strength.

We prayed together for papers to restore dignity, for safety in uncertain times, and for the wellbeing of every child in that home. It was a moment of faith, of community, and of hope that tomorrow might bring relief.

This visit reminded me that resilience often blooms in the harshest conditions. The mother’s mat, the children’s laughter, and the vegetables in her garden are all signs of life persisting against the odds.

Blogged by Carolyn 

Holy Home Visit 3 (Lesley and Lucy) 

So we (Lesley, Audrey,Angel and myself) had a short walk to one of the care workers’ sister house. We established on our walk the reason for visiting this family was due to the children having had a skin infection for the last couple of months and being unable to attend the carepoint due to it potentially being infectious (they were still getting a meal as the care workers were taking it to them ) . We met the lady not far from her home. 

She kindly got a bench and some chairs for us to sit on under a small tree away from the direct sun ☀️, it was extremely hot so pleased we only had a short walk! 

She shared with us that the children were much improved but still visiting the clinic and the children were also receiving vaccinations which could only help their overall health. The GoGo updated us more about her 5 children including about her 18 year old daughter who regularly disappeared to another community. The GoGo also informed us that she currently had piece work, cleaning an elderly man’s house and doing cleaning 🧹, this earnt her 500 rand (£25) a month to live on . To put in to context a bag of maize for her size family currently costs about 140 rand … not leaving much to live on; especially as they are not entitled to any government grants as they’re from Mozambique. The father of the children was South African but had died and therefore they were unable to get papers for the children. 

The GoGo and her family currently live in a house ( 1 room) which they are borrowing, she owns some land nearby  and hoping to get some extra piece work to pay for a house to be built in the future . 

We prayed at the end for the children to continue to get better, that her piece work continued and that she may find more soon to enable her to build her own home 🏠. I felt more uplifted by the end of the visit as the GoGo was keen and aspired to improve her and her families life and she had hope that this was possible. We then took photos and said our goodbyes .

Blogged by Lucy