Somerset Care Point

Hands Family Center almost finished 

For many of the Mercy Air team much of Tuesday was spent shopping for, organising and packing food parcels to be loaded onto the vehicles for the following day journey. Some of us were at the shop at 7 in the morning, alongside long queues of seniors waiting to collect their pension. 

Local staff taking the role call organizing the day 

We traveled in the baaki with 40 food boxes to Hands at Work mission centre, just the other side of White River. We met some of the ‘Hands’ team, who also attend the same church and cell as us. It was great to catch up after 7 weeks!

Angie form Hands and me self working together, partnership is vital 

Part of their outreach is to support poor communities in rural areas, and they have 5 centres in South Africa and more across Africa. The task of the day was to travel with Angie (my ‘Hands’ guide and partner for the day) to Somerset, about 1.5 hours North (70km) of the Mercy Air farm. As we traveled through small towns, we saw many very long queues of people (up to 1km) waiting to get into the shopping centres.

‘Hands’ support a community in Somerset and each day they feed 100 children, along with health, education, and Christian input.  This meal is vital as it is usually the only meal of the day for the children.’ Hands’ have been working in this community for many years, patiently building relationships and local leadership skills.

Empowering local people is a Hands value 

We met the local team on site and together we unloaded the baaki of all its food into the partially finished community centre. There was just over a ton of food, and each box along with 10kg of maize will help feed the family for 2 weeks.  There was a great sense of excitement and gratitude from the local team on receiving this support and they spoke of how important it was going to be for the families.  But even among all the excitement it was encouraging to see children and adults practicing social distancing and good hand washing practices. As the children began to gather it was time to start the daily feeding programme of food already made by the local volunteers.

Mercy Air wheels in place of wings transport 

When the food parcels are distributed ‘Hands’ have a highly organised method of identifying the local need and making sure everything donated (or purchased by donations) goes to the right family. This can only be achieved through the long-term relationship ‘Hands’ have developed in the local community. This project showed how Mercy Air has adapted to the new local need of the poor and isolated. It also demonstrated the importance of working with others who share similar values. I have been reflecting on the words in the Gospel of Mark Ch12 when Jesus invites us to Love God, Ourselves, and our Neighbour.

Bible reading and prayers for the day 

Outreach Report Summary

Where – Somerset  

When – Wednesday 6^th May 2020  

With - Hands at Work 

Beneficiaries - Hands Care Point at Somerset – 100 children on register  

What needs – Transport MA 40 donated food boxes and 40x10kg Maize Meal 

Key Facts and Figures - 

·         MA VW Transporter 

·         140 km by road 

·         7am to 5pm return 

·         Nigel Traynor driving; Angie from Hands at Work travelled with

·         The centre feeds supports 100 children per day

·         Health care, Education and Christian teaching included

·         This is an ongoing project for Hands at Work, but MA were able to assist with transport during the COVID19 pandemic.

  

Comment – This task demonstrated the importance of working with others who share similar values and reflects the words in the Gospel of Mark Ch12 when Jesus invites us to Love God, Ourselves, and our Neighbour.