THE NEWSLETTER

Dig Into Big Ideas at Commons

Solidarity Matters

Scott Wall shares about the Hands at Work trip & easy ways you can get involved

Flashback to April 14th, 2023.
Calgary to Amsterdam to Johannesburg to Ndola.
20 hours in the air, all the way across an ocean, and then down the entire African continent.
Then finally, after one last hour in the back of a van, our team arrived in Kalende.

Commons has been connected to Kalende, set in the brush and grassland of Zambia’s Copperbelt, since 2014. Through our partnership with Hands at Work, we’ve sent a number of teams to visit the volunteer care workers there, and we’ve built rhythms of steady generosity, prayerful awareness, and mutual learning here in Calgary.

So when I arrived in Kalende — where a school, kitchen area, and gathering space welcome children from the community — I heard names I’d heard before. I saw the faces of care workers that others from Commons had told me to look out for. And, our team encountered a kind of warm recognition that I hadn’t anticipated.

That recognition was a product of the long-term partnership we’ve formed, for sure.

But over the two weeks we were there, I started to realize that this recognition also emerged from a mutual faith shared across culture and distance — faith that unites us with all efforts to address poverty and vulnerability.

I began to see clearly that the kindness we exchanged with our Zambian siblings was a simple yet profound example of how we practice solidarity. 

Solidarity matters because it can be so hard to know what to do in the face of global crises, and how to respond equitably. Organizations like Hands at Work are crucial in helping us do this work well because they invite us to respond to such challenges within a framework of relationship.

In relationship we observe the efforts of care workers in Kalende to build community resiliency over time, following their example as we extend care in our own neighbourhoods.

We get to address massive global challenges by supporting faithful, local initiatives.

And we learn to practice solidarity not from a place of entitlement and privilege but from a posture of openness and service.

Our teams that visit Kalende have a unique, embodied opportunity to do this work, but there are ways we can do that here at home too. This is why, each year, we host a number of events and activities to help the wider Commons community engage our partnership with Hands at Work — and some of these are coming up soon!

First, on Sunday September 18th we are hosting our annual Fall Awareness Walk. Children and care workers in Kalende walk A LOT every day, and this is why once a year we take a couple of hours to come together after a Sunday service, share a meal, and walk as a practice of solidarity.

Second, on Monday October 30th we are hosting a Kalende Update event. Each year, Hands at Work coordinates and produces a report directly from the community we support. Come and hear a story directly from Kalende, and hold space for those serving there.

And finally, in January of 2024 we will be hosting a Global Poverty awareness event. Hands at Work invites us to be aware of the most vulnerable populations in Sub-Saharan Africa, and to consider the ways we can advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Come join us as we practice solidarity in our learning together.

Mark your calendars and watch our events page for more details.

Join the Hands at Work Awareness Walk. More info and registration here.