Helping African Hands

Helping African Hands (HAH) is dedicated to improving the quality of life and expanding opportunities for people living in extreme poverty throughout Africa. Using a hands-on approach, HAH works closely with individuals, families and communities to offer long-term solutions and services to culturally specific problems that effect health, education, and individual and community development. HAH strives to deepen personal and public commitment to peace, self and mutual respect, responsibility, and self-expression - qualities that HAH believes are essential for those living in poverty to realize their fullest potential and make a positive contribution to society.

Inspired by the United Nations Millennium Villages, HAH is a comprehensive youth-led community development model that focuses on the empowerment and development of future leaders in Africa. The HAH program elements align with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by providing sports, music and arts training, health and environmental education and life skills development as a supplement to the local school curricula. The program provides participants with the skills necessary to be productive members of their community and encourages them to be proactive in the movement to eradicate poverty. HAH is a community-based model that extends developmental support and vocational training to all community members in exchange for their ongoing and cooperative participation in program activities. An important objective for HAH is to create a strong sense of community where the individual participants assume responsibilities related to the whole group resulting in an acute awareness of one’s ability to impact their environment.