Life Centre Painting in Zwelisha


Hands at Work mobilises the local church within the communities that we serve to care for the orphaned, the widowed, and the dying. When Hands at Work begins working in a new community, children gather daily at a Care Point to receive food, support with education and support with basic health care. However, the work that is being done does not end with the provision at a Care Point. The dream of Hands at Work is to transform these Care Points into Life Centres in each of the communities across Africa. A Life Centre is not simply a physical place, but it is an emotional, spiritual and relational place where the most vulnerable children and their families can know that they are loved, accepted and cared for.

One component of a healthy and holistic Life Centre vision is the provision of basic facilities. These include toilets, cooking shelters and spaces for our children and Care Workers to gather within. Our dream is to see these physical spaces transformed into welcoming, colourful and attractive facilities which reflect values of life and care.


Together with Hands at Work, our local volunteer Care Workers, and the children being served, our international teams can play a part in bringing this dream to life! Towards the end of April, as a Hands at Work family, we were able to help with the pilot Life Centre painting project in Zwelisha, which we plan to replicate in several other of our communities across Africa with our international teams. 


 

This is the building that we started off with!





The Care Workers joy and laughter was infectious as they painted their place!










Each of the colours picked for the building are colours that can be found in our communities across Africa. Given the choice of colours, the Care Workers choose to have green as the top and feature colour of their building.

When the children arrived at the Life Centre from school, they were able to begin painting their shape. They started by painting the first initial of their name and then painted over it, symbolising the love that God covers them with.










It was special to see each of the children choose their own colour and be able to take ownership of their Life Centre because they had a part in helping to create it.













After we had finished painting on the first day!










About 3 weeks later, a smaller group of us headed back to Zwelisha to draw in the black lines, which was the final touch. 

 Again, the Care Workers eagerly participated and were so excited to see their building complete! 










The day in Zwelisha was filled with laughter, joy and God's presence as we worked alongside the Care Workers and the children to bring colour and life to their Life Centre.  Praise God for his goodness and faithfulness! 




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