Kingsley's Story

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to do something to help others.

As a kid, I dreamed of working in a hospital. I wanted to be able to help people, especially my friends and family. But I doubted myself and worried I wouldn’t be able to heal complicated conditions or diseases.

Afterall, everyone knew me as the pastor’s son, not an aspiring doctor.

Thankfully, the events of my life led me to a place where I am not only serving people’s physical needs but their spiritual needs as well.

In 2013 Kingdom Workers Field Manager Stefan Felgenhauer visited our village. Our church elders met with him to discuss bringing the disability ministry to our congregation. Eventually it was decided that we would partner with Kingdom Workers. This is when I raised my hand to volunteer.

Kingsley discusses expectations and best practices with the first group of WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) volunteers in Malawi. 

We were then trained by a group of people from the United States. I was happy to experience a different kind of way to serve. I sang in the church choir, but the Bible teaches us to do what is good and spread the gospel message to those who need it—to people who are separated from the word of God. People like those with disabilities.

As I volunteered, people in my community began to trust me. They started to tell me about people with disabilities around the community or asked for help to address problems faced by children with disabilities. Through volunteering, we developed a reputation for helping the community.

Volunteering with Kingdom Workers has been such a blessing. The Martin Ntambo Leadership Development Scholarship is one such blessing. I was the first recipient of this scholarship. That is how I was able to go to university and study Public Health. Now I actually get to work for Kingdom Workers as a Field Assistant doing WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) training.

I know I can’t help my community with every problem, but I can at least do my best so that together we can create solutions.

Having access to clean water makes a world of difference for the women and children who no longer need to walk for miles to reach a water source.

Right now, I am focusing mainly on helping areas where partner churches are located. People in these rural areas use unprotected water sources and it can cause people to become very sick and even die. We help people to know why sanitation and hygiene are so important. We teach them how to have good health and share that being healthy helps us to serve God every day. In our projects we always use local volunteers. They are closer to the people being served and it increases the impact and sustainability of our work.

I am blessed to be in a position where I can serve others and I also get to tell them about Jesus.

The work I get to be a part of is so amazing. We get to let people know about their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We encourage church elders to carry a bible with them and always have some verses ready to share with the people before we do our work. We get to improve lives and proclaim the gospel.

I believe that God’s love can be shown to people if you are concerned with their lives. Whether it’s through our disability ministry, nutrition program, or WASH, we get to show God’s love in what we teach and do. I might not have grown up to be a doctor, but I am blessed to be in a position where I can serve others and I also get to tell them about Jesus.

Kingsley Matope is a field officer for Kingdom Workers, and a trained Public Health officer and a trained primary school teacher. He enjoys meeting new people, sharing God’s word and WASH programs. He also enjoys singing and listening to Gospel songs and likes sharing God’s words through music. In his free time he usually produces songs and listens to other local Gospel singers and reads health books and news.